India launched a military offensive against Pakistan on Wednesday, carrying out coordinated missile airstrikes. These targeted nine enemy locations, both in the region of Kashmir administered by Pakistan and in the Pakistani province of Punjab. On Thursday, Pakistani media reports indicated an explosion caused by an Indian drone near a military base in Lahore, the country's second most populous city.
The Pakistan army stated that during the night, a dozen drones from the Indian army, manufactured in Israel, had been "neutralized in nine locations," including Lahore and Karachi - the latter being the city with the highest population, around 20 million. They added that one civilian had died and four Pakistani soldiers were injured.
"One of the drones managed to attack a military target near Lahore," a military spokesperson said. Pakistan closed the country's three main airports all morning and lodged a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization, stating that during Wednesday's missile attack by India, there were 47 commercial flights flying over its airspace.
All alarms have been raised about a dangerous escalation of the conflict that could lead to an open war between the nuclear powers, similar to the one in the spring of 1999 due to a covert military operation by Pakistan in Indian Kashmir.
Tensions have intensified since the Islamist massacre on April 22 in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir. Delhi directly blamed Pakistan for the killing of 25 Hindu tourists and a Nepalese guide. Pakistan denied any responsibility.
After the Indian army launched the so-called Operation Sindoor on Wednesday against what they described as "terrorist infrastructures," Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing Kashmir. Indian authorities claimed on Thursday that Pakistani troops had violated a ceasefire agreement reached in 2021 "for the past 14 consecutive nights," attacking Indian positions along the 740-kilometer border.
Islamabad also stated on Thursday that 31 civilians had died in the Indian attack on its territory. Meanwhile, Delhi reported 15 civilian deaths and 51 injuries during Pakistani bombings on the border.
"India will have to face the consequences of its airstrikes," declared Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, in a televised message to the nation. "Perhaps they thought we would retreat, but they overlooked the fact that this is a nation built on courage," he added.
The Punjab province government has declared a state of emergency in all hospitals, allocating half of the total available beds and instructing medical centers to ensure 24-hour staffing, postpone non-urgent surgeries, and ensure an adequate supply of blood bags for all blood types.