Pakistan officials have confirmed its counterattack against India has begun under the name Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, meaning “wall of lead” in Arabic. As our newly updated full report says, Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes – after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases – are a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan’s military spokesperson said in a live broadcast on state television early on Saturday that India had targeted Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base. Shah Meer Baloch and Hannah Ellis-Petersen report that Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the military has its headquarters, is about 10km from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Video shared on social media showed flames and smoke billowing into the night sky. The early morning strikes on Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, a densely populated area, caused mass panic, with residents running into the streets. India’s attempted strikes on Rawalpindi and other key military bases – and the launch of Pakistan’s counterattack on Saturday – marks the steepest escalation in their confrontation yet, bringing the two countries the closest they have been to war in decades. See the full report here: Pakistan has shut its airspace to all air traffic, India’s NDTV is reporting. Pakistan’s military says it has hit India’s Pathankot air field, Udhampur air force station and Brahmos missile site, Reuters reports. State-run Pakistan Television says “multiple locations” in India are being targeted in Pakistan’s retaliatory attacks. It did not give details and it was unclear which military locations in India were being targeted. The report from the Associated Press comes after Pakistan’s army said earlier that India had fired missiles at three air bases in the country. Most had been intercepted, it said. Pakistan has launched retaliatory military action against India, the Pakistani state broadcaster has said, citing security sources. Multiple explosions have been heard in the Indian cities of Amritsar and Jammu, according to Reuters witnesses, and in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar. G7 countries have called for an immediate de-escalation between India and Pakistan and encouraged them to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome, Reuters is reporting. The Group of Seven includes the US, UK, France and Germany. Hello and welcome to our coverage of the India-Pakistan crisis. Pakistan’s army spokesman says India has fired missiles at three air bases inside the country, but most of the missiles have been intercepted. Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif said all Pakistan air force assets were safe. He made this announcement during his televised address, saying some of the Indian missiles had also hit India’s eastern Punjab. The news comes after Pakistan was accused of launching a fresh wave of drone strikes against India, with projectiles reported over the states of Indian-administered Kashmir and Punjab. The allegations were yet another alarming confrontation between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed countries, since India’s missile strikes on nine sites in Pakistan on Wednesday killed 31 people. Those strikes in turn were India’s response to an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir late last month, in which militants killed 25 Hindu tourists and a guide. Follow the developments with us.
Author: Adam Fulton