Pakistani forces say they have shot down 25 Indian drones that have entered the airspace as hostility among nuclear-armed neighbors continues to spiral after Indian air raids at multiple locations within Pakistan’s territory.
Pakistan’s Major Ahmed Schaudhry, a military spokesman, said on Thursday that Israeli Harop drones made in India had been deployed to targets, including Karachi and Lahore.
“Indian drones will continue to be sent to Pakistan’s airspace… [India] Chaudhry said the military had one civilian killed and four Pakistani soldiers were injured as a result of the drone incident.
The Indian Army said on Wednesday night and early Thursday there were attempts to “neutralize” by Pakistan to “involve” several military targets in the northern and western regions. It targeted air defense systems in several locations in Pakistan, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement, adding that 16 people were reported to have been killed as a result of the Pakistan fire.
The incident on Wednesday came the day after India said it had launched a precision strike within Pakistan on what is called “terrorist infrastructure.” Pakistan said these attacks killed at least 31 civilians.
The New Delhi operation followed a fatal attack in India-controlled Kashmir two weeks ago, killing 26 people. India has condemned Islamabad for the attack – Pakistan’s accusations are strongly denied.
Escalation on the ground
Report from New Delhi, Al Jazeera’s Neha Punea said the situation in line with Control (LOC), the de facto border of Kashmir, will rapidly deteriorate. “There was a significant escalation in the way two troops were attractive,” she said.
Indian military said 13 civilians were killed, 59 were injured and one soldier was killed in exchange. Villages near LOC are empty, with residents fleeing or evacuating in bunkers.
“We haven’t seen this kind of private movement in years,” Punea pointed out.
Amidst the security crisis, 20 airports in northern India have been closed until at least May 10th, seriously affecting travel and commercial activities.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said Karachi airport would be closed until 6pm (13:00 GMT), while Islamabad and Lahore airports were closed for a short time “for operational reasons”.
“Acts of war”
From Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Haider reported that Pakistani forces accused India of repeatedly violating airspace and putting civilians and aviation safety at risk.
Haider also looked at a new competition: India’s release of water into the Chenab River.
Islamabad sees this as a violation of a long-standing agreement, an “existential threat” and “act of war.”
“The Pakistan Parliament has approved a military response with a cross-party consensus,” Haider said, noting that it will raise the fear of wider war.
After Wednesday’s strike, Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif vowed retaliation, raising fears that both countries could head towards another full conflict.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have sent foreign ministers to New Delhi and Islamabad to mediate. Meanwhile, the Indian government has convened a meeting of all party members to present an assessment of the situation.
“Pakistan will respond.”
As India and Pakistan both accused them of provoking each other, analysts suggest that Pakistan is under pressure to bring about a strong response to India’s actions.
“India’s limited goals are met,” Happymon Jacob, director of the Strategic and Defense Research Council in New Delhi, spoke with Al Jazeera. “Pakistan has a limited purpose to ensure that it carries out retaliatory strikes to save faces both domestically and internationally. So that’s likely to happen.”
Jacob predicted that exchanges could evolve into several cross-border missiles or artillery fires, similar to past conflicts.
Security analyst Hassan Khan told Al Jazeera that the Pakistani government and the military are under pressure to respond decisively.
“Pakistan will respond and people expect that response will be more difficult than what the Indians have done,” he said from Islamabad. Khan predicted that missiles could be used to target multiple Indian facilities, whilst avoiding crossing the loc.
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