Cross-border drone assaults alleged by India against Pakistan, with Pakistan responding in kind, creating a mutual charge of aerial hostility.
The engagement erupted two weeks following New Delhi accusing Islamabad of supporting an assault on the Indian-controlled Kashmir region, a charge that Pakistan flat-out denied.
On a Thursday note, Pakistan's military announced the downing of 28 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Pakistan of launching drone and missile attacks, claiming they destroyed an air defense system in Lahore. Since India initiated airstrikes on Wednesday, over 48 individuals lost their lives on both sides of the border, with the majority of casualties reported in Pakistan (32 deaths, including 12 children).
Both countries have fought two of their three full-scale wars over Kashmir, a disputed region both claim in its entirety but administer separately since gaining independence from the British in 1947.
Drone Attacks in Jammu
"Pakistan attempted to engage a multitude of military targets using drones and missiles," India's defense ministry stated on a Thursday statement, adding that these were neutralized. The defense ministry shared earlier its military had targeted air defense radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, asserting they destroyed an air defense system in Lahore.
On a Thursday evening, explosions were reported at Jammu's airport, a crucial city in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. A security source, who preferred anonymity, informed AFP but provided no further details.
Pakistan rejected any involvement in Thursday's strikes, with the top military spokesperson branding India's drone attacks as a "phantom defense."
Bombings in Lahore
Pakistan denounced Delhi's drone attacks as "another act of aggression," claiming they had thwarted 28 out of 29 Israeli-made Harop drones that crossed into their country on Thursday. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared these drones "attempted to assault military installations" and "targeted civilians," causing one death, injuring four, and wounding four army personnel. Among the cities attacked was Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered. The city's cricket stadium was one of the venues for the Pakistan Super League, which later relocated its remaining eight matches to the United Arab Emirates.
Residents in Lahore reported hearing blasts, and aviation authorities temporarily halted operations at the main airport there and in the capital Islamabad.
The Right to Respond
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh indicated New Delhi had the "right to respond" following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, last month, which left 26 individuals, mainly Hindu men, dead. New Delhi accused the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba – a United Nations-designated terrorist organization – of the Pahalgam shooting. The nations exchanged days of threats and diplomatic measures before the Missile attacks.
Pakistan denied any involvement and requested an independent investigation into the April 22 attack. Pakistan's military stated on Wednesday that five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but India has yet to respond to the claims. An Indian senior security source, who asked for anonymity, stated that three of its fighter jets crashed on home territory.
Tensions are high on both sides of the disputed border after the exchange of heavy artillery during the darkness on Wednesday. A missile hit a mosque nearby, causing shrapnel to pierce a 15-year-old girl's chest in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which was struck by Indian missile strikes. On the other side of the border in Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded by Pakistan on Wednesday, witnesses reported seeing two children killed.
Global Involvement
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders in both countries and urged "immediate de-escalation," his spokeswoman stated. US Vice President JD Vance reiterated the call in a televised interview, noting, however, that the U.S. "will not get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business."
Several countries have offered to mediate, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi on Thursday, days after visiting Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities assert they have the right to retaliate to India's initial strikes. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed they would "avenge" those killed by Indian air strikes, stating, "We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs."
- Despite Pakistan's denial, India's defense ministry warned that Pakistan had attempted to engage multiple military targets using drones and missiles in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region.
- India's defense ministry offered that their military had targeted air defense radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, and claimed they destroyed an air defense system in Lahore.
- In retaliation to India's drone attacks, Pakistan rejected any involvement in recent strikes and branded India's drone attacks as a "phantom defense."
- The Global involvement in the escalating conflict can be observed as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders in both countries and urged "immediate de-escalation."
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss mediation efforts in the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict within the political, business, and crime-and-justice spheres of general-news.
