By MUNIR AHMED, Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan said India fired missiles at three air bases inside the country Saturday but most of the missiles were intercepted and that retaliatory strikes on India were underway. 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.
Army spokesman, Lt. Gen. 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.
State-run Pakistan Television said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a meeting of the National Command Authority, the body responsible for overseeing the country’s missile program and other strategic assets.
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 P akistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
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, according to the spokesman.
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,” said Sharif. One of the ballistic missiles hit Adampur, the remaining five missiles hit the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar.”
Following the announcement of Pakistani retaliation, residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir said they heard loud explosions at multiple places in the region, including the two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.
“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 defense and foreign ministry and its armed forces.
Srinagar appeared calm on early Saturday but some residents in neighborhoods 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,” said Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin, adding that he said heard at least two explosions.
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 have been shut for all flight operations.
As soon as people learned that Pakistan had finally carried out a retaliatory strike, people were seen raising slogans in support of Pakistan’s armed forces.
“Thank God we have finally responded to Indian aggression,” said a young man, Muhammad Ashraf, 28, who had come to Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar in the morning for breakfast.
In the city of Multan, Punjab, a young man named Muhammad Rizwan said the Pakistani armed forces had won the hearts of the entire nation by taking strong action against Indian aggression. “The entire Pakistani nation is united against Indian aggression,” he said.
In Peshawar, Karachi, and all major cities, people were seen chanting slogans in support of the army and the country.
The Indian army said late 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 added.
On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
On Thursday, India said it 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. India said, meanwhile, that it hit Pakistan’s air defense 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,” a statement by Canada on behalf of G7 foreign ministers said Friday. “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome.”
AP journalist Hussain reported from Srinagar, India.
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