Tensions spiral between India, Pakistan as drone, missile attacks continue

The tensions between India and Pakistan have appeared to be rising as India on Thursday accused Pakistan of attempting to escalate the conflict between the two countries, claiming that “drones and missiles” fired by Pakistan at several military targets throughout northern and western India were intercepted Thursday morning. 

The Indian Ministry of Defense, in a statement, said Pakistani sites, including a Pakistani air defense system at Lahore, were also targeted and destroyed.

“Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” the statement reads. “Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan.”

Tribune Online reports that the tension between India and Pakistan increased on Tuesday and Wednesday, when India launched aerial attacks on Pakistan, about two weeks after a deadly terror attack in the disputed Kashmir region. 

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According to ABC News, India blamed Pakistan for the militant attack, the Pahalgam incident, which left 26 people dead in Indian-held Kashmir. 

While Pakistan denied involvement in the Pahalgam incident, the Indian defense ministry said on Thursday that at least 16 people have been killed in the country as a result of firings from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, following a declaration by the Pakistani Prime Minister that the country had “once again proven its superiority over its enemy,” his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, had convened on Thursday a meeting of his secretaries to discuss “national preparedness.”

The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on Thursday praised the actions of his country’s military over the last few days.

“I salute the heads of all three armed forces and every brave soldier,” Sharif said, according to his office. “The 240 million people of Pakistan are proud of their armed forces.”

However, a series of world leaders have continued the renewed hostility between India and Pakistan and those who have called for an end to the conflict include US President Donald Trump and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, among others. 

According to Trump, the two countries have been fighting for a long time, expressing optimism that it ends very soon.

“It’s a shame. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades. I hope it ends very quickly,” the US president said.

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