Pakistan launched multiple attacks along India’s western border, India says

Pakistan Launches Attacks Along India’s Western Border

Pakistan’s armed forces conducted “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions along India’s entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, according to the Indian army, escalating the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Tensions between the old enemies have been rising since India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday, in response to a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir the previous month, which India claimed were “terrorist camps.”

Both countries have since engaged in cross-border fire, shelling, and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace, resulting in nearly four dozen fatalities.

This recent fighting marks the deadliest conflict between India and Pakistan since the limited conflict in Kashmir’s Kargil region in 1999. India targeting cities in Pakistan’s mainland provinces outside Pakistani Kashmir is a significant escalation not seen since their full-scale war in 1971.

The Indian army reported that Pakistani troops had engaged in “numerous ceasefire violations” along the countries’ de facto border in Kashmir, a region that is claimed in full by both countries.

“The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and a befitting reply was given to the ceasefire violations,” the army stated, emphasizing that all hostile actions would be met with force.

In response, Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar refuted the Indian army’s claims, calling them “baseless and misleading,” and denied any “offensive actions” from Pakistan targeting areas within Indian Kashmir or beyond the border.

Pakistan had also denied attacking several cities in India, dismissing the accusations as “unfounded” and “politically motivated.”

Sirens in Amritsar

A “major infiltration bid” was thwarted in Kashmir’s Samba region on Thursday night, as reported by India’s Border Security Force. Heavy artillery shelling continued in the Uri area on Friday, resulting in property damage and casualties.

Residents of Amritsar, a border city in India, were alerted by sirens blaring for more than two hours on Friday, prompting them to stay indoors. Tourists began leaving the city due to the disturbances.

Concerns spread to other border areas, such as Bhuj in Gujarat, where authorities prepared to evacuate residents near the Pakistan border. Schools and coaching centers were closed in Rajasthan’s Bikaner region, and residents were advised to move to safer locations.

Ansab, a student at Sher-e-Kashmir University, described the intensity of explosions heard overnight, indicating a significant escalation in violence in the region.

International calls for de-escalation have been made by world powers, including the US and China, amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

The volatile relationship between the two countries, stemming from their independence from British rule in 1947, has centered around the Kashmir region, leading to multiple conflicts over the years.