India and Pakistan trade drone and missile strikes amid rising tensions

 

Tensions Soar as India and Pakistan Exchange Drone and Missile Strikes

Tensions between South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals surged this week after a deadly exchange of drone and missile attacks, with both India and Pakistan accusing each other of unprovoked aggression while claiming to have repelled cross-border assaults.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s military reported that it had shot down 25 Indian drones in multiple areas along its eastern border. Officials described the move as a "firm and calibrated response" to what they called deliberate violations of Pakistani airspace.

India, in turn, said it had successfully thwarted a coordinated Pakistani drone and missile attack targeting a major military installation in the north. Indian defence officials said the assault was “aggressively neutralised,” preventing significant casualties or damage.

The sharp escalation follows an Indian military operation on Tuesday that reportedly killed at least 31 people and injured dozens more in Pakistan’s Punjab province and parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan condemned the offensive as an “act of brutality.”

In an emergency press briefing, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed retaliation. “We will avenge the blood of our innocent martyrs,” he said. “India’s unprovoked aggression will not go unanswered.”

India has defended its actions as a response to what it called "continued infiltration attempts and militant threats" originating from Pakistani territory.

The cross-border flare-up has drawn international concern. The United Nations and several regional actors have urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the crisis.

As of Thursday morning, reports indicated that military activity was ongoing in some areas along the contested border, fuelling fears of a broader conflict.