Blasts rock Occupied Kashmir, Amritsar as Pakistan conflict escalates

JAMMU: Blasts rang out across Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Amritsar in neighbouring Punjab state late on Friday, with the Indian military claiming they were shooting down drones in the worst fighting with Pakistan in nearly three decades.

The explosions in Amritsar - the first heard in the three-day-old conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours - could mark a further expansion in the hostilities that have alarmed world powers.

Projectiles and flashes were seen in the night sky above the IIOJK that was plunged into a blackout in the second night of blasts in the region’s winter capital, officials and a Reuters journalist said.

“Drones have been sighted … They are being engaged,” said an Indian military official who asked not to be named.

Ten blasts were heard near the airport in Occupied Srinagar and there were explosions in a dozen other locations in the contested region, other security officials added.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan which dismissed Indian accusations that it had launched attacks on the same area on Thursday night.

The old foes have been clashing since India struck several areas that it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan on Wednesday following an attack on tourists in IIOJK.

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Pakistan dismissed Indian accusations that it was involved. Both countries have exchanged cross-border fire and shelling and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace.

Pakistan military brought down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafale, in retaliation following Indian missile attacks. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Indian missiles were launched at sites including Bahawalpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad cities, while India also attacked the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project.

Clashing accusations

India’s airforce earlier claimed Pakistan used Turkish drones to attack 36 locations on India’s west and northwest, in Occupied Kashmir and further afield in states bordering Pakistan all the way to the edge of the Arabian Sea on Thursday night into Friday morning.

Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar dismissed earlier Indian accusations of Pakistani attacks as “baseless and misleading” and said Pakistan had not carried out any “offensive actions”.

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In Azad Kashmir, officials said heavy shelling from across the border killed five civilians, including an infant, and wounded 29 others in the early hours of Friday.

The fighting is the deadliest since a limited conflict between the two countries in Kashmir’s Kargil region in 1999.

Sirens had blared for more than two hours earlier on Friday in in Amritsar, which houses the Golden Temple revered by Sikhs.

Tourists fled the city by road as the airport was closed.

“We really wanted to stay but the loud sounds, sirens, and blackouts are giving us sleepless nights. Our families back home are worried for us so we have booked a cab and are leaving,” said a British national who did not want to be named.

Schools and coaching centres were closed in the Bikaner region of India’s desert state of Rajasthan, and residents near the Pakistan border said they were asked to move further away and consider moving in with relatives or using accommodation arranged by the government.

Further south in Bhuj in Gujarat, authorities said tourist buses had been kept on standby in case they needed to evacuate people near the Pakistan border.

India’s Directorate General of Shipping directed all ports, terminals and shipyards to increase security, amid “growing concerns regarding potential threats”.

Indian shares fell for a second straight session on Friday, losing about $83 billion in market value, with both key stock indexes losing 1.1%.

Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed 3.52% higher with traders crediting a fall off in violence in Pakistani territory after Thursday’s clashes.