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. There was no way to independently verify all the actions attributed to Pakistan or India.
Army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said 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. There was no immediate comment from India.
State-run Pakistan Television reported that 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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir on Friday.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio continued to urge both parties to “find ways to deescalate and offered U.S. assistance in starting constructive talks” in order to avoid future conflicts.
The call for calm came ahead of Saturday's Indian missile strikes, which 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 Pakistan's military spokesman.
There was no media access to the air base in Rawalpindi, a densely populated city, and no immediate reports of residents hearing or seeing the strike or its aftermath.
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 Jammu resident. “It looks like a war here.”
Vaid said explosions were heard from areas with military bases, adding it appeared that army sites were being targeted.
Srinagar appeared calm 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 he heard at least two explosions.
Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group for India, said the two countries were at war even if they had not yet labelled it as one.
“It’s become a remorseless race for military one-upmanship with no apparent strategic end goals from either side,” said Donthi. “With increasing civilian casualties on both sides, finding an exit or off-ramp is going to be challenging.”
India’s army said it destroyed multiple armed Pakistani drones that were spotted flying over a military cantonment in northern Punjab state’s Amritsar city early Saturday.
“Pakistan’s blatant attempt to violate India’s sovereignty and endanger civilians is unacceptable.” the statement said.
In Pakistan, the civil aviation authority shut the country's airports for all flight operations and people in major cities were seen chanting slogans supporting the armed forces.
“Thank God we have finally responded to Indian aggression,” said Muhammad Ashraf, who had headed out for breakfast in the eastern city of Lahore.
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.
India and Pakistan have traded strikes and heavy cross-border fire for days, resulting in civilian casualties on both sides.
The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urged “maximum restraint” from India and Pakistan. It warned Friday that further military escalation posed a serious threat to regional stability.
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AP journalist Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Associated Press writer Rajesh Roy in New Delhi, Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, contributed to this story.
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