Pakistan’s army said it struck several Indian military sites early Saturday in retaliation for India’s missile strikes on airbases, a significant escalation in the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The army said in a statement it hit Indian airbases and other military sites in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir region and in Punjab state. India’s Ministry of Defence didn’t immediately respond to Pakistan’s claims, but local media in India reported that the strikes were intercepted.
The tit-for-tat military action is now in its fourth day, with tensions between the two nations at their most dangerous levels in years, marked by both sides shooting down missiles and drones over densely populated cities.
The dramatic escalation began Wednesday when India carried out a operation against what it described as terrorist camps inside Pakistan. The strikes on nine targets, which Pakistan’s army said killed 31 civilians, were the deepest breach of Pakistani territory by India since the 1971 war.
India’s action was a retaliation for an April 22 attack by suspected militant gunmen in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region, which killed 26 civilians, mainly Hindu tourists. India called the attack an act of terrorism and accused Pakistan of involvement, allegations Islamabad has denied.
Pakistan on Saturday called its military action Operation Bunyan Un Marsoos, or Operation Molten Lead. Early Saturday, Pakistan said Indian jets had attacked three of its airbases with missiles, although all “air force assets” were safe, according to military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.
Pakistan closed its airspace for all flights until noon Saturday. India also announced the closure of 32 airports in the northern and western parts of the country, and suspended 25 air route segments, until May 15.
QuickTake: What’s Behind the Enduring India-Pakistan Conflict?
The US, as well as officials from Iran, Japan and Saudi Arabia, have urged restraint on both sides. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday said President Donald Trump has “good relationships with the leaders of both countries” and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has been in constant communication” with them as well.
Pakistan and India have clashed several times over the disputed region of Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947. The last time the two nations came close to an all-out war was in 2019, after a suicide bomber killed 40 members of India’s security forces. India blamed Pakistan and responded about two weeks later with its first airstrikes on Pakistani soil since 1971. Pakistan retaliated by shooting down an Indian jet and arresting the pilot, who was later released. Tensions died down soon afterward.
