SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Munir Ahmed
Islamabad: Pakistan says India has fired missiles at three air bases inside the country, but most of the missiles have been intercepted and retaliatory strikes on India are under way. It’s the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a massacre last month that India blames on Pakistan.
The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.
Rescuers and security workers inspect a residential building damaged by a Pakistani drone attack in Jammu, India, on Saturday.Credit: AP
Army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif said in a televised address that Pakistan’s air force assets were safe following the Indian strikes, adding that some of the Indian missiles also hit India’s eastern Punjab.
“This is a provocation of the highest order,” Sharif said.
The Indian army said in a post on X on Saturdaythat multiple “enemy armed drones” spotted over the holy city of Amritsar in India’s border state of Punjab were “instantly engaged and destroyed” by Indian air defence units, and that Pakistan was continuing its “blatant escalation” with drone strikes and other munitions used along India’s western border. India said Pakistan’s “enemy designs” would be thwarted.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack at a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
Smoke billows after an explosion in Jammu, India, on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, the spokesman said.
Sharif said some of the Indian missiles also went into Afghanistan.
“I want to give you the shocking news that India fired six ballistic missiles from its city of Adampur,” Sharif said. “One of the ballistic missiles hit Adampur, the remaining five missiles hit the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar.”
Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir said they heard loud explosions on Saturday at several places in the region, including the two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.
Pakistani police remove vehicles and people from the main entry of Nur Khan airbase after an Indian missile strike in Rawalpindi on Saturday.Credit: AP
“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Shesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and a resident of Jammu. “It looks like a war here.”
Vaid said explosions were heard from areas that have military bases, adding that it appeared army sites were being targeted.
There was no immediate comment from India’s Defence and Foreign Ministry nor from its armed forces.
Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin said he heard at least two explosions. “Our home shook and windows rattled,” he said.
A residence destroyed by artillery shelling allegedly conducted by Pakistani forces in the town of Uri, Indian-controlled Kashmir.Credit: Getty Images
Srinagar appeared calm early on Saturday, but some residents in neighbourhoods close to the city’s airport, which is also an air base, said they were rattled by the explosions and booming sound of fighter jets.
“I was already awake, but the explosions jolted my kids out of their sleep. They started crying,” Yasin said.
Despite the Indian attacks, life in Pakistan’s major cities remained normal on Saturday morning, though the country’s civil aviation authority said all airports had been shut for all flight operations.
As soon as they learnt that Pakistan had carried out a retaliatory strike, people were seen raising signs with slogans supporting Pakistan’s armed forces.
“Thank God we have finally responded to Indian aggression,” said Muhammad Ashraf, 28.
In the city of Multan, in Pakistani Punjab, Muhammad Rizwan said the Pakistani armed forces had won the hearts of the nation by taking strong action. “The entire Pakistani nation is united against Indian aggression,” he said.
In Peshawar, Karachi, and all major cities, people were seen chanting slogans supporting the army and the country.
The Indian army said late on Friday that drones were sighted in 26 locations across many areas in Indian states bordering Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir, including Srinagar. It said the drones were tracked and engaged.
“The situation is under close and constant watch, and prompt action is being taken wherever necessary,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory that it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, Pakistani officials said. Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets.
On Thursday, India said it had thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denied the claims. Meanwhile, India said, it hit Pakistan’s air defence systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed.
The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urged “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan amid flaring hostilities.
“Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,” Canada said in a statement on behalf of G7 foreign ministers on Friday. “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome.”
