By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

The Pakistan-Indian War Coming to an End?

Pakistan’s foreign minister said Saturday that if India stops its escalatory actions, so will Islamabad. “If there is an iota of sanity, India will stop, and if they stop, so will we,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on camera while speaking with a local TV station. “We genuinely want peace without the hegemony of any one country,” Dar said. His comments come after India and Pakistan launched a fresh round of military operations on each other on Saturday and accused each other of taking escalatory steps.

 

Earlier, Pakistan targeted 26 locations in India, Pakistan military is also moving troops to forward areas

The attack in Pahalgam was one of the deadliest in recent memory for the restive region, and soon threatened to aggravate already icy bilateral ties. One of the reasons we paid attention to this is that we realized from the beginning that a wider, more devastating conflict could erupt.

This among others has now led to a full-fledged Drone war. India and Pakistan today increasingly attack each other’s territories well beyond Kashmir.

Tensions between India and Pakistan remained high days after Delhi launched airstrikes on its neighbor, sparking tit-for-tat military action from both sides this week and widespread confusion as competing claims and disinformation spread online.

 

Pakistan targeted 26 locations in India; Pak military moving troops to forward areas,’ says govt

Many countries are calling for restraint, fearing a wider, devastating conflict could erupt. And they are also watching closely to see how weapons from both sides, acquired from China and parts of Europe, fare against each other in conflict. Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs arrived in Pakistan’s capital on Friday on a potential mission to calm tensions. The same day, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke to both his Indian and Pakistani counterparts.

But China is backing Pakistan, for example, the following carries a serial number. Referring to China's PL-15 Air-To-Air Missile appears to have been used in combat for the first time on May 7.

The latest escalation between the longtime foes has killed dozens on both sides so far. India’s initial Wednesday airstrikes killed at least 31 people and wounded 46 others, while Pakistani shelling from across the border has killed at least 16 civilians in the India-administered part of the disputed region of Kashmir, according to military and defense officials from both sides.

India targeted three Pakistani airbases, Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Chakwal, and Rafiqui in Jhang, as confirmed just hours after Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry made the claims during a press briefing early Saturday.

Whereby Pakistan 'sAir Force jets in turn raided Srinagar on Saturday morning, with the Indian armed forces retaliating to the raid “effectively”. This comes after Pakistan launched multiple drone attacks in Indian border districts on Friday night and Saturday morning, with India’s air defence system intercepting them. On Friday evening, explosions were heard in Srinagar’s airport area, Samba, Jammu city and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, Pathankot and Ferozepur in Punjab, and Barmer in Rajasthan as border areas witnessed blackouts Friday.

Visual from Srinagar as the standoff continues between India and Pakistan amid heightened tensions.

Meanwhile, Punjab's Bathinda is under red alert. "An eye for an eye", "Pakistan responds", are statements by Pakistan's military as it discusses what it’s called Operation Bunyanun Marsoos. The army claims the counter-offensive is ongoing, with a spokesman saying it is targeting all air bases from which India had launched its missiles.

A field supply depot, a battery site, an artillery gun position, and brigade headquarters are claimed to have been hit. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, as the window for de-escalation appears to shrink.

 

The body is responsible for Pakistan's nuclear assets.

Blasts also rang out across Indian Kashmir and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in neighboring Punjab state late on May 9, with the Indian military saying they were shooting down drones in the worst fighting with Pakistan in nearly three decades. The explosions in Amritsar, the first heard in the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors, could mark a further expansion in the hostilities that have alarmed world powers.

Projectiles and flashes were seen in the night sky above the Indian Kashmir city of Jammu that was plunged into a blackout on the second night of blasts in the region’s winter capital, officials and a Reuters journalist said.“Drones have been sighted ... They are being engaged,” said an Indian military official who asked not to be named.

The Indian army said in a statement late on May 9 that drones were sighted in 26 locations across a wide area of India’s west and northwest, from Kashmir and states bordering Pakistan to the edge of the Arabian Sea. Ten blasts were heard near the airport in the Indian Kashmir city of Srinagar, and there were explosions in a dozen other locations in the contested region, other security officials added.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, which dismissed Indian accusations that it had launched attacks on the same area on the night of May 8.

It's a dangerous war due to the ongoing military escalation by both countries.

The Pakistani military says it has destroyed an Indian airbase, an airfield, and a missile storage unit in India. If it’s true, that’s a massive provocation. Islamabad said it was in response to India's missile strikes, including one close to the capital, Islamabad. There has been no confirmation yet from the Indian side on Pakistan’s version of events.

After days of drone warfare, the two countries appear to have fallen into an unknown, rather troubling territory. The scale and intensity of the current skirmishes are the worst in three decades. The nature of the damage suffered by both sides will determine the next course of action in both capitals.

 

Pakistan as a US Ally

Pakistan is a US ally, although its importance has diminished since Washington’s 2021 withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan. In a statement released by Canada, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, Britain, and the European Union said they “strongly condemn” an April 22 Islamist militant attack in which 26 people were killed in India-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan, which denied the accusations and called for a neutral probe. “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” the G-7 statement said.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled only in part by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan. It has been the site of wars, insurgency, and diplomatic standoffs over the decades. Pakistan said this week that New Delhi and Islamabad have had contacts at the level of their respective national security councils.

 

India Is Preparing for Something Bigger from What it is Now.

Pakistan Air Force jets raided Srinagar on Saturday morning, with the Indian armed forces retaliating to the raid “effectively”. This comes after Pakistan launched multiple drone attacks in Indian border districts on Friday night and Saturday morning, with India’s air defense system intercepting them. On Friday evening, explosions were heard in Srinagar’s airport area, Samba, Jammu city, and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, Pathankot and Ferozepur in Punjab, and Barmer in Rajasthan as border areas witnessed blackouts Friday May 17.

Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri both deny that Pakistani strikes have caused any damage to military infrastructure in India.

"Pakistan has also attempted to execute a continued malicious misinformation campaign, with claims of destruction of the Indian S-400 system at Adampur, destruction of airfields at Surat and Sirsa, Brahmos space at Nagrota, artillery gun positions in Derangyari and Chandigarh ammunitions depot, with heavy damage to other military stations being propagated on social media," Singh says, adding:

"India unequivocally rejects these false claims being spread by Pakistan."

For context: Earlier today, Pakistan accused India of using missiles to attack civilian and military infrastructure.

 

 

Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri both deny that Pakistani strikes have caused any damage to military infrastructure in India.

"Pakistan has also attempted to execute a continued malicious misinformation campaign, with claims of destruction of the Indian S-400 system at Adampur, destruction of airfields at Surat and Sirsa, Brahmos space at Nagrota, artillery gun positions in Derangyari and Chandigarh ammunitions depot, with heavy damage to other military stations being propagated on social media," Singh says, adding:

"India unequivocally rejects these false claims being spread by Pakistan."

 

Will this signals the end of the war?

Pakistan’s foreign minister said Saturday that if India stops its escalatory actions, so will Islamabad. “If there is an iota of sanity, India will stop and if they stop, so will we,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on camera while speaking with a local TV station. “We genuinely want peace without the hegemony of any one country,” Dar said. His comments come after India and Pakistan launched a fresh round of military operations on each other on Saturday and accused each other of taking escalatory steps.

Elsewhere, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh Pakistan's military, she says, has been observed "moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation".  "Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness," she tells the briefing. "All hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded to appropriately. Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan military." Pakistan has not commented on whether it's moving troops closer to the border with India. Now, this might be part of overcrossing comments that just happen to be reported at the same time by the press.

Pakistan’s military, early Saturday, May 9, claimed New Delhi’s forces had bombed their territory in Amritsar, without providing evidence. Armed groups have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and took the state under direct rule by New Delhi.

The countries have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. The conflict has caused major disruptions to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that do not overfly the India-Pakistan frontier.

As mentioned, India has closed 32 airports, while schools in areas close to the border on both sides were shuttered, affecting millions of children. Pakistan’s aviation authority said its airspace would be closed until noon Sunday (0700 GMT). burs-ach-fox.

Pakistan’s military says strikes have been launched against Indian military sites as part of “Operation Bunyan Marsoos” after three Pakistani airbases were targeted by India’s “air-to-surface missiles”.

Security personnel cordon off a road near Nur Khan air base after strikes on Saturday in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The media wing of Pakistan’s military, soon after, said the armed forces were targeting Indian military sites and claimed to have struck multiple locations.

 

 

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