Pakistan says Indian missiles strike air bases as conflict spirals

BORDER CONFLICT. A security personnel stands guard near the Karachi Port in Karachi, Pakistan amid the ongoing border tensions between India and Pakistan after the Kashmir tourist attack. Islamabad charged New Delhi on Friday (May 9, 2025) with bringing the nuclear-armed neighbors “closer to a major conflict,” as the death toll from three days of missile, artillery, and drone attacks passed 50. (Photo courtesy: Rizwan Tabassum / AFP)

By Agence France-Presse

Pakistan’s military on Saturday said India launched another wave of missiles targeting three air bases—including one on the outskirts of the capital—as the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors spiralled toward full-blown war.

The South Asian countries have exchanged fire since Wednesday, when India launched air strikes on what it called “terrorist” sites in Pakistani territory after a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of the divided Kashmir region.

The clashes—which have involved missiles, drones, and exchanges of fire along the de-facto border in disputed Kashmir—are the worst in decades and have killed more than 50 civilians.

Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in a live broadcast aired by state television in the middle of the night said India had “attacked with missiles” targeting three air bases.

He said a “majority of the missiles” had been intercepted and “no flying assets” had been damaged.

One of the bases targeted, the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi—the garrison city where the army is headquartered—is around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

Several blasts were heard from the capital overnight.

The air base is used to receive foreign dignitaries; Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir had departed there just hours earlier.

“Now you just wait for our response,” Chaudhry warned India.

DAMAGED. A local resident inspects the debris of his house that was destroyed by Pakistani artillery shelling at the Lagama village in Uri, about 100 kilometers from Srinagar, on Friday (May 9, 2025). (Photo courtesy: Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Disputed Kashmir

The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men.

India blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba—a UN-designated terrorist organization—for the attack but Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe.

The countries have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.

Previous clashes have been mostly limited to the Kashmir region, separated by a heavily militarized border known as the Line of Control (LoC), but this time India has struck multiple cities deep in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry alleged New Delhi’s “reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top security officials on Friday, including his national security advisor, defense minister, and the chiefs of the armed forces, his office said.

Most of the more than 50 deaths, which included children, were in Pakistan during Wednesday’s first air strikes by India.

RISING TENSION. Residents gather as police personnel inspect the site where an alleged drone was shot down in Karachi on Thursday (May 8, 2025). Pakistan’s army said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum / AFP)

Drone warfare

On Friday, the Indian army said it had “repulsed” waves of Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions overnight, and gave a “befitting reply”.

Pakistan’s military spokesman denied that Islamabad was carrying out such attacks, and vowed revenge for the initial Indian strikes.

Pakistani military sources said its forces had shot down 77 in the last two days, with debris of many incursions seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) in cities across the country.

An Indian army spokesperson on Friday said there were “300 to 400” Pakistani drones, but it was impossible to verify that claim independently.

Pakistan has accused India of fabricating the drone strikes, and early Saturday its military claimed Delhi’s forces had bombed their own territory in Amritsar, without providing evidence.

Civilians have come under fire on both sides, with Islamabad and New Delhi accusing each other of carrying out unprovoked artillery shelling as well as missile and drone strikes.

On Friday, shelling along the LoC killed five civilians including a 2-year-old girl in Pakistan, officials said.

Across the border, a police official said one woman was killed while two men were wounded by heavy shelling.

Disruptions

Armed groups have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and took the state under direct rule by New Delhi.

The conflict has caused major disruptions to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that do not overfly the India-Pakistan frontier.

India has closed 24 airports, while schools in areas close to the border on both sides were closed, affecting millions of children.

The mega Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament was on Friday suspended for a week, while Pakistan suspended its own T20 franchise competition indefinitely.

World powers have called for both sides to exercise “restraint”, with several offering to mediate the dispute.

The G7 group of wealthy democracies called Friday for “immediate de-escalation” and “maximum restraint”.

The International Crisis Group, however, said “foreign powers appear to have been somewhat indifferent” to the prospect of war, despite warnings of possible escalation.

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