Pakistan’s PM addresses parliament

“I want to congratulate all the honourable members that last night, our enemy thought that it would be a dark night, tried to attack us through the dark like how it has been in the past,” Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif says.

“By the grace of God, with the prayers of our people, this act of aggression has been befittingly answered,” he continued.

India to carry out air raid drills in high-risk districts: Report

India will hold mock air raid and other emergency drills today in dozens of districts considered high risk amid heightened tensions with neighbouring Pakistan, the Indian Express newspaper reports.

Drills will take place in districts across New Delhi and Haryana as well as in the areas of Mumbai, Palghar, Raigad and Pune, according to the Indian Express.

During the exercises, residents will hear a mock air raid alert and must take shelter indoors and turn off electrical appliances, the report added.

Pakistan said it will retaliate against India after its overnight strikes.

More from Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif

We can now bring you more of what Pakistan’s PM said in his address to the country’s parliament.

Here are some notable quotes from his speech:

“On April 22, Pahalgam … had a sad incident. Indian media and politicians went on to make false allegations against Pakistan. They tried to show the world that, God forbid, Pakistan is behind this incident.”
    
“I said [at the time] Pakistan has no linkages with this incident, and I went on to say that if anyone has any issues, then they should go ahead with an international commission and Pakistan will cooperate so that things could come clear.”
    
“Last night, they [India] had, all in all, 80 jets with which they attacked six places in Pakistan, including two in (Pakistani-administered Kashmir).”
    
“The Pakistani side was completely ready. …Our jets did not (leave) our airspace.”
    
“The moment the Indian side released payloads, we engaged their jets and shot five Indian jets … some of which fell in Indian-occupied Kashmir and one in Bathinda.”

EU, UK call for de-escalation

More European powers have addressed the latest military confrontation between India and Pakistan.

The European Union urged both nations to “show restraint” and take immediate steps towards de-escalation.

“The EU recalls the need for a negotiated, agreed and lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict,” foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

The United Kingdom also said the conflict is “a serious concern” and called for calm.

“The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

India’s ‘carefully calibrated’ attack leaves Pakistan in tight spot: Analyst

Federica Marsi

Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, has told Al Jazeera that India has been careful to stress that its attack targeted “terrorist infrastructure”, rather than any Pakistani military facilities.

Similarly, it suspended a water treaty with Pakistan, rather than walk away from it.

“India’s action has been very carefully calibrated,” Joshi said. “Pakistan will retaliate because that’s how the politics works, the question is what they will hit as there are no equivalent targets in India.”

The analyst said targeting military or civil facilities in India would lead to an escalation between the two countries, as the Indian government may then decide “to have a second round of retaliation”.

While Pakistan had offered to investigate the attack that killed 26 people on April 22 in Pahalgam, Joshi said India has suffered “terrorist” attacks for the past three decades and that Islamabad’s promises to bring the culprits to justice had not been fulfilled.

“India accuses the Pakistani army of being part of the terrorist action, so Pakistan can hardly cooperate with India on this,” he said. “Pakistan can’t play both roles, meaning it can’t be the perpetrator and the investigator.”

Pakistan has repeatedly denied such accusations.

Vietnam Airlines re-routes Europe flights

The national flag carrier says it has re-routed about 10 flights between Vietnam and European destinations, including England, France and Germany, to avoid Pakistani airspace.

“Flights between Vietnam and Europe will likely continue to be re-routed over the next days, depending on the regional situation,” Vietnam Airlines said.

Budget carrier Vietjet said it had not been affected by the tensions.

Indian attacks in Pakistan raise fears of wider conflict

Yashraj Sharma, Reporting from New Delhi, India

In the first hours of Wednesday, Indian armed forces said they struck nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where residents woke up to loud explosions, as the nuclear-armed rivals edged to the precipice of a full-blown military conflict.

New Delhi said its missiles precisely targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across the border while demonstrating “considerable restraint”.

The Indian Army, in a statement, said the attack was “non-escalatory in nature” and pointed out that Pakistani military facilities were deliberately not targeted.

Pakistani ministers also claimed that the country’s air force had shot down several Indian military jets.

Operation Sindoor: What’s the significance of India’s Pakistan targets?

The Indian military launched multiple missile attacks on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early on Wednesday in an attack it called “Operation Sindoor”. The Pakistani military claims to have retaliated, shooting down multiple Indian military planes.

At least 26 Pakistanis have been killed in the six targeted cities, according to Lieutenant Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) media wing of Pakistan’s military. India says it struck nine sites.

Pakistan Airports Authority says airspace safe

The Reuters news agency is citing Pakistan’s Airports Authority as saying the country’s airspace is safe and open for flights.

The authority also said all of Pakistan’s airports are functional, according to Reuters.

The statement comes after numerous airlines cancelled flights to Pakistan or diverted routes around Pakistani airspace.

Resident in Pakistan-administered Kashmir says explosions kept going off ‘everywhere’

In one of eight locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir hit by India, residents were woken up by sudden blasts.

“We were all asleep when at about 1:00 am (19:30 GMT) there was a sudden explosion and we got up and saw a cloud of smoke inside the house,” Sujay Kumar said.

“Explosions kept erupting continuously everywhere … We ran away from the spot but explosions kept happening till 4am.”

US embassy in Pakistan reminds citizens of ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for border areas

In a new security alert, the US embassy in Pakistan says it closely monitoring developments of what it called “an evolving situation”.

“US citizens are reminded of the “Do Not Travel” advisory for areas in the vicinity of the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict,” the Islamabad-based mission said.

Pakistan to avoid being seen as responsible for escalating conflict

Federica Marsi

Pakistan has multiple options for retaliation, primarily across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, but will seek to avoid being seen as responsible for escalating the conflict, Gilles Verniers, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, tells Al Jazeera.

“Both parties will want to claim that their responses remain proportionate, which may be a factor of moderation,” Verniers said. “The key question is whether the habitual moderating factors that intervene in moments of tension can be effective.”

The analyst noted there has been no diplomatic dialogue between India and Pakistan in recent years. Also, he said, Pakistan remains mired in political unrest and the United States has lost some of its leverage on Islamabad since its withdrawal from the region in 2020.

“The combination of these factors is fuelling uncertainty in this crisis,” he said.

Injured people treated after shelling in India-administered Kashmir

Injured civilians in towns in India-administered Kashmir have been treated in hospital after cross-border artillery strikes between Pakistan and India.

Several people were reported killed on the Indian side.

Indian embassy calls report of Pakistan downing jets ‘disinformation’

The Indian embassy in China has dismissed a report by a Chinese news website citing Pakistan’s claim that it shot down several Indian jets.

“We would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of dis-information,” the embassy said in a social media post, responding to the report by Global Times.

“Several pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public.”

Pakistani military sources said five Indian jets were shot down during India’s wave of attacks on positions inside Pakistan.

The Indian government has yet to officially respond to the claims.

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