Pakistan accuses India of concentrated on 3 army bases with missiles as tensions escalate

Pakistan has threatened additional retaliation after accusing India of concentrated on 3 of its army bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a significant escalation of the brewing warfare between the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours.

“India, with its naked aggression, has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base have been targeted,” Pakistan army spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry mentioned in a reside broadcast aired by means of state tv early on Saturday.

Chaudhry mentioned India had fired six ballistic missiles from over the border in Punjab. He mentioned maximum had been intercepted by means of Pakistani air defences. “Now you just wait for our response,” he warned India.

Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, the place the army has its headquarters, is round 10km from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. In the aftermath of the moves, Pakistan close down its air area.

Video shared on social media confirmed flames and smoke billowing into the evening sky as a voice may also be heard pronouncing, “There has been an attack on Nur Khan base as fighter jets flew past.”

India’s tried moves on Rawalpindi and different key army bases marks the steepest escalation but in its war of words with Pakistan, bringing the 2 international locations the nearest they’ve been to battle in many years.

On Wednesday India’s missiles struck 9 websites in Pakistan killing 31 other people. Those moves in flip had been India’s reaction to an assault in Indian-administered Kashmir past due ultimate month, during which militants killed 25 Hindu vacationers and a information, which they alleged had Pakistan’s involvement.

India’s alleged moves on Pakistan got here hours after Indian mentioned Pakistan had introduced but every other wave of drone assaults throughout 26 places over the state of Punjab and Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday evening. Explosions had been heard close to the airport in Srinagar, the principle town in India-administered Kashmir.

The Indian military mentioned they’d in large part intercepted the drones however police mentioned 3 other people within the Ferozepur district of Punjab, which borders Pakistan, have been injured from the drone assaults, one in a essential situation.

Earlier within the day, India accused Pakistan of launching an assault the usage of as much as 400 drones to focus on towns, army bases and puts of worship around the north of the rustic on Thursday.

India claimed to have intercepted masses of Pakistani drones, which it mentioned got here around the border into Indian-administered Kashmir, in addition to Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat. It mentioned a primary wave of drones got here on Thursday night time and every other wave hit with reference to break of day on Friday.

India mentioned it had introduced 4 drone moves at Pakistan, without delay concentrated on army defence infrastructure.

In a press convention on Friday, the Indian army alleged that Pakistan’s drone assaults on Thursday had centered a gurdwara, a Sikh position of worship, injuring a civilian, and that the drones had additionally centered Christian church buildings.

“The targeting of temples, gurdwaras, convents is a new low by Pakistan,” mentioned India’s overseas secretary, Vikram Misri.

Pakistan’s data minister, Attaullah Tarar, denied the drone assaults and mentioned Pakistan had no longer undertaken any “offensive actions” inside Indian Kashmir or past Pakistan’s border.

However, a Pakistan safety authentic mentioned that Thursday evening’s drone moves had been simply to “heat things up” ahead of Pakistan introduced a completely fledged retaliatory assault. “When we hit back, everyone will know,” they mentioned.

Pakistan mentioned it thought to be the Indian assault an “act of war” and vowed to retaliate.

“We will not de-escalate – with the damages India did on our side, they should take a hit,” Pakistan’s army spokesperson, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, mentioned at a media briefing. “So far we have been protecting ourselves but they will get an answer in our own timing.”

The Pakistani military gave new main points of Wednesday’s strike during which it claimed Pakistan had deployed greater than 100 planes to push back the moves by means of Indian planes that performed the assaults from Indian airspace. It mentioned the 2 facets had engaged in an hour-long aerial dogfight.

Pakistan claimed it used Chinese-made guns and flooring air defences to assist convey down 5 Indian fighter jets. India has but to reply to allegations that Pakistan shot down its planes, however particles from no less than 3 fighter jets, together with that of no less than one elite French Rafale jet, was once observed in Indian-administered Kashmir and Punjab.