Key Points
- Pakistan has closed its airspace to all flights for 24 hours, as announced by the country’s military.
- On Saturday, Pakistan reported launching counterattacks against India.
- Casualty estimates suggest that at least 48 people have been killed since Wednesday on both sides of the border.
Officials and residents also reported hearing two blasts in Baramulla town, as told to Reuters.
“Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border,” the army said on social media platform X.
Pakistan’s planning minister announced on local television that “special measures” had been enacted to avoid civilian casualties, focusing instead on sites used for targeting Pakistan.
A man inspects a room damaged by Pakistan artillery shelling in the Indian-administered Kashmir area of Uri. Source: Anadolu / Getty Images
Sounds of explosions were reported in Srinagar and Jammu, where sirens were sounded, a Reuters witness said.
According to preliminary damage assessments by the Pakistani military, only a few missiles penetrated the air defences, and they did not hit any “air assets.”
People light candles during a vigil for victims of an Indian missile strike on a mosque in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Source: AAP / Amiruddin Mughal / EPA
India has said its strikes on Wednesday, which started the clashes between the countries, were in retaliation for a , which it accuses Pakistan of backing.
Much of the fighting on Friday was in Indian-administered Kashmir and states bordering Pakistan. India said it shot down Pakistani drones.
