India on late Tuesday said it fired missiles on Pakistani cities and parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Multiple explosions were heard in different parts of Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir.
Lt Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesman of Pakistan’s military, told local broadcaster Geo News that India had fired missiles on the cities of Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh, Muzaffarabad and Kotli from its own air space. He confirmed at least three deaths and more than a dozen injuries.
He said Pakistani forces had begun retaliatory attacks against India.
According to an Indian Defense Ministry statement, Indian armed forces launched “Operation Sindoor” and targeted nine sites in Pakistan. It claimed “hitting terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the statement said.
The escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors comes in the wake of April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people were killed. India had blamed Pakistan for the attack, claiming there were cross-border links.
Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings.
Both countries took a plethora of measures against each other after the attack, including suspension of visas and expulsion of diplomats.
Indian missile attacks kill 8, injure 35: Pakistan Army
At least eight people have been killed and 35 injured while two are missing after India launched missile attacks inside Pakistan, a spokesperson for the Pakistani Army said Wednesday.
The Indian army, “using different weapons, targeted six places, which left 24 impacts,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a pre-dawn news conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Pakistan has downed 5 Indian Air Force jets: Defense chief
The Pakistani Air Force has downed five Indian Air Force jets following missile strikes by India, Pakistan’s defense chief said early Wednesday.
“The Pakistan Air Force has shot down at least five Indian fighter jets in response to India’s recent cross-border aggression,” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed to private broadcaster Geo TV.
Earlier, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed downing two aircraft of the Indian Air Force, according to CNN.
“There are other reports of multiple damage that Pakistani forces, both on the ground and air, have inflicted. But I can confirm to you that at least two aircraft of the Indian Air Force have been downed,” Chaudhry added.
There was no immediate reaction from Indian authorities to Pakistani state media reports about the downing of the jets.
“There are other reports of multiple damage that the Pakistani forces, both on the ground and air, have inflicted. But I can confirm to you that at least two aircraft of the Indian Air Force have been downed,” he added.
There was no immediate official reaction from Indian authorities to Pakistani state media reports about the downing of the two jets.
Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said during an interview with Sky News that Pakistan’s response is “ongoing” but declined to share details.
Pakistan giving ‘befitting reply’ to ‘act of war’ imposed by India: Premier Sharif
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif early Wednesday called India’s strikes on Pakistani cities and Pakistan-administered Kashmir a “cowardly attack” and that Islamabad was giving a “befitting reply” to the “act of war” by New Delhi.
The “Pakistani nation and the Pakistani armed forces know how to deal with the enemy very well,” Sharif said in a statement.
“The enemy will never be allowed to succeed in his nefarious objectives,” he added.
Trump hopes tensions between India, Pakistan end ‘very quickly’
US President Donald Trump described the latest flare-up between India and Pakistan as “a shame” and expressed hope that tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors end “very quickly.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the White House when asked for his reaction to attacks between India and Pakistan, Trump said: “It’s a shame. We just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval.”
“I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. You know, they’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it,” he said.
“I just hope it ends very quickly,” he added.
UN chief ‘very concerned’ over India’s missile attacks on Pakistan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern Tuesday over recent missile attacks by India against Pakistan.
“The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries,” said his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in a statement.
“The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” he added.
