India has deployed a naval strike group, including an aircraft carrier and warships equipped with supersonic cruise missiles, closer to the northern Arabian Sea, placing it within striking range of Pakistan’s key economic and strategic hub, the port city of Karachi, amid a surge in cross-border hostilities.
According to a report by The Telegraph UK, citing Indian media including Hindustan Times, the Indian Navy has moved its Western Fleet approximately 300-400 miles from Pakistan’s coast.
The fleet comprises destroyers, frigates, and anti-submarine vessels, with several platforms armed with the BrahMos missile system, a joint Indian-Russian cruise missile capable of delivering a 300kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 3 over distances of 500 miles.
Karachi Port, which handles around 60 percent of Pakistan’s trade, also hosts the Pakistan Navy’s headquarters, making the deployment particularly sensitive.
The naval movement follows days of heightened military exchanges between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
On Friday night, multiple explosions were reported around Srinagar International Airport in Indian-administered Kashmir, and drone strikes were claimed in Amritsar and Jammu. Indian officials accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attacks, which Islamabad denies.
India’s government claimed to have intercepted a wave of missile and drone attacks from Pakistan targeting 15 cities.
In retaliation, Indian military strikes on May 7 reportedly targeted “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, though Pakistani authorities asserted that the attacks killed at least 31 civilians and damaged religious and civilian infrastructure, including mosques and a power plant.
Pakistan said it shot down several Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, during the exchange. The claim could not be independently verified.
At a press briefing in Rawalpindi, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan reserved the right to respond at “a time, method and place of our choosing.”
He accused India of violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and endangering regional peace. Holding up images of children allegedly killed in Indian strikes, he said: “Remember these pictures when you ask us what Pakistan is going to do.”
Cross-border artillery fire since May 7 has reportedly killed nearly two dozen civilians near the Line of Control (LoC).
Amid the escalating hostilities, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended for one week due to growing security concerns.
Meanwhile, the Indian foreign secretary reportedly spoke with his Pakistani counterpart, expressing condolences for civilian casualties and calling for de-escalation.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office warned that “India’s reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict.”
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