Pakistan has shot down Indian Rafale fighter jets and Indian brigade headquarters in retaliatory strikes after at least three people were martyred and 12 other injured in Indian strikes on Pakistani cities, according to security sources.
A missile strike by Pakistani forces also wiped out an enemy post in the Dudhniyal sector along the Line of Control (LoC), the sources added.
Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that India had attacked Pakistan with missiles in three places — Bahwalpur, Muzaffarabad and Kotli.
Slamming the India attack, the military spokesperson said: “All of our air force jets are airborne. This is a shameful and cowardly attack that was carried from within India’s airspace.”
“They were never allowed to intrude Pakistan’s airspace”.
“Let me say it unequivocally, Pakistan will respond to this [attack] at a time and place of its choosing,” warned the DG ISPR. “This provocation will not go unanswered.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry said damage assessments are currently underway and further details will be shared in due course.
Just after midnight, loud explosions were reported in the mountainous region near Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, according to Reuters witnesses. The blasts triggered a citywide power outage, plunging the area into darkness.
“There is temporary happiness that India has achieved with this cowardly attack, which will be replaced with enduring grief,” said the military spokesperson signaling a strong response from Pakistan to the attack.
The development comes amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the aftermath of an attack on tourists that left 26 dead in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam.
India had blamed Pakistan for the attack without offering any evidence.
Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings and offered to participate in independent and credible probe.
This is a developing story and will be updated with further details.
