Pakistan says India fired missiles at 3 air bases inside country. Pakistani retaliation underway

A paramilitary soldier stand alert on a road near Karachi port following raising military tension between Pakistan and India, in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan said India fired missiles at three air bases inside the country Saturday but most of the missiles were intercepted and that retaliatory strikes on India were underway. It’s the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a massacre last month that India blames on Pakistan.

The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.

Pakistani army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said in a televised address that the country’s air force assets were safe following the Indian strikes. He added that some of the Indian missiles also hit India’s eastern Punjab.

“This is a provocation of the highest order,” Sharif said.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack at a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed P akistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to the spokesman. There was no immediate comment from India.

Sharif said some of the Indian missiles also went into Afghanistan.

“I want to give you the shocking news that India fired six ballistic missiles from its city of Adampur,” said Sharif. One of the ballistic missiles hit Adampur, the remaining five missiles hit the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar."

Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir said they heard loud explosions Saturday at multiple places in the region, including the two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.

“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Sheesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and a resident of Jammu. “It looks like a war here.”

Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin said he heard at least two explosions. “Our home shook and windows rattled,” he said.

The Indian army said late Friday that drones were sighted in 26 locations across many areas in Indian states bordering Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir, including Srinagar. It said the drones were tracked and engaged.

“The situation is under close and constant watch, and prompt action is being taken wherever necessary,” the statement added.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denied the claims. India said, meanwhile, that it hit Pakistan’s air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed.

The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urged “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan amid flaring hostilities.

“Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,” a statement by Canada on behalf of G7 foreign ministers said Friday. “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” it said.