Pakistan claims to have killed up to 50 Indian soldiers as they vow to get revenge for “every drop of blood” spilt in the deadly conflict.
The nuclear-armed neighbours are teetering on the brink of an all-out war as border clashes in Kashmir continue after several Indian missile strikes and drone attacks.
Pakistan’s military operations across the last two days have resulted in the deaths of between “40-50 Indian soldiers”, according to information minister Attuallah Tarar.
Fighting between the two powerful nations has intensified this week along the de facto border between Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of the Kashmir region.
Tensions boiled over in the early hours of Wednesday morning after India launched a terrifying barrage of missile strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Islamabad accused their neighbours of deliberately targeting civilians in the attacks as they hit back with days of intense shelling.
Both sides have now accused each other of sending drones and missiles at one another.
Pakistan’s armed forces also managed to take down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones sent by India today, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The ISPR report added that India was “panicked by the elimination of its five modern jets, several drones and soldier deaths”.
The prime minster boasted that it “took only a few hours” to bring the Indian military “to its knees”.
India hit back by claiming Pakistan also sent “drones and missiles” to a number of regions in the country.
They said they managed to “neutralise” all of the Pakistani air attacks.
They also accused Islamabad of using mortars and heavy calibre artillery in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.
Horrified locals were pictured standing inside their crumbling homes as smoke continued to rise across Kashmir early this morning.
Officials stated the Indian army responded with gunfire of their own to halt the attacks.
These back and forth attacks have led to the death tolls from both sides sharply rising.
India says 16 people, including three women and five children, have died since Wednesday morning due to Pakistani aggression.
Indian officials also said that border force security shot dead a “Pakistani intruder” who was trying to cross the International Border in Punjab on Thursday.
As Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a televised address to the nation as he said over 30 people were killed in the latest round of enemy strikes.
A seven-year-old boy was among the victims with another 57 also injured, the PM claimed.
Sharif also issued a chilling threat to the Indian government as he said: “I promise that we will take revenge for every drop of blood of these victims.”
He called on Pakistanis to show “courage” in the face of evil across the border.
Sharif went on to repeat claims that his men shot down several Indian fighter jets – including three French-made Rafales.
Heavy gunfire is continuing along the volatile Line of Control in Kashmir despite India describing it as “unprovoked firing”.
The volatile clashes erupted this week when India claimed they hit terror infrastructure in a planned operation labelled “Operation Sindoor” on Wednesday morning.
Pakistan said they targeted civilian regions but New Delhi insisted iy only hit sites used by militants.
They claimed up to 100 terrorists were killed across the terror camps, local outlet NDTV reports.
India’s Ministry of Defence said the strikes were in retaliation to a “barbaric” mass shooting in Kashmir last month, when 26 people were killed by gunmen.
India blames Pakistan for the shooting – but the latter denies any involvement.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has now warned that Operation Sindoor “is not over” with further attacks expected from both sides.
Pakistan branded it a “cowardly and unlawful act of war”.
The country has been hugely impacted by the devastating attacks in recent days with airports in three major cities set to be shut until 6 pm (1pm UK time), the Civil Aviation Authority announced.
Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports will be closed for “operational reasons”.
Emirates has also suspended flights to Pakistan until May 10, Reuters reports.
It comes as US President Donald Trump spoke on the ongoing battle and said he is prepared to do “anything to help”.
Sir Keir Starmer also told Parliament Britain is now “engaging urgently” with both of the Commonwealth countries.
The prime minister said he is “encouraging dialogue” and urging “de-escalation”.
India and Pakistan are being urged to step back from armageddon as a nuclear war between the two rivals could kill up to 125 million people.
Peace campaigners like the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons are “gravely concerned” and have called for the two sides to step back from the brink.
India and Pakistan only have small stockpiles of nuclear weapons compared to Russia or America – but they have a viscous rivalry and longstanding feud over Kashmir.
New Delhi is estimated to have 170 nuclear warheads and can deliver them through land, sea, or air.
Islamabad was last officially thought to also have 170 weapons – but that could have grown that arsenal to around 200.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army commander, said the West will be particularly nervous about a nuclear conflict.
Ingram told The Sun: “Western intelligence in particular will be focused on the readiness and the outloading of nuclear stocks inside both Pakistan and India and monitoring what’s happening to them very closely indeed.
“The worrying thing about these two nations is that the tensions are very real.”
