Pakistan and India accused each other of launching drone attacks on Thursday, May 8 as Islamabad’s Defence Minister warned that further retaliation was “increasingly certain.”
This marks the second day of significant clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistan claimed it shot down 25 Indian drones, while India said its air defenses intercepted Pakistani drone and missile attacks targeting military sites. Hopes of a swift de-escalation in the region — long regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous nuclear flashpoints — appeared increasingly dim. The U.S. Consulate General in Lahore instructed its staff to shelter in place as global powers, including the United States, Russia, and China, called for calm.
The flare-up follows India’s announcement on Wednesday that it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan, in retaliation for what it alleges was a deadly Islamabad-backed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. Pakistan denied involvement and insisted none of the sites targeted were militant bases. It also claimed to have shot down five Indian aircraft — a report dismissed by the Indian embassy in Beijing as “misinformation.”
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said, “Retaliation is increasingly becoming certain now. I will still refrain from saying it is 100%, but the situation has become very difficult. We have to respond.”
India and Pakistan have had a tense relationship since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. The two nations have fought three wars — two of them over Kashmir — and have engaged in numerous smaller skirmishes. Both acquired nuclear weapons in the 1990s.
Pakistan’s benchmark share index was halted after plunging 6.3% amid the rising hostilities. International bonds also took a hit, with the 2036 bond dropping by 2.4 cents to 72.4 cents. Indian markets responded similarly; equities, the rupee, and bonds fell sharply, with the Nifty 50 index closing 0.58% lower in one of the most volatile sessions in a month.
According to Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, 25 Israeli-made drones from India were shot down at multiple locations, including Karachi and Lahore. One drone was downed over Rawalpindi, the city that hosts Pakistan’s army headquarters. Another drone struck a military target near Lahore, injuring four Pakistani soldiers.
“Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan’s airspace… India will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression,” said Chaudhry.
India’s defence ministry stated that Pakistani forces attempted to strike military targets in northern and western India from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. These attacks, it said, were successfully “neutralised” by Indian air defenses. In response, Indian forces reportedly targeted Pakistan’s air defence systems at multiple locations. “The Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity,” the ministry added.
India also accused Pakistan of escalating cross-border firing in Kashmir. It reported that 16 civilians — including five children and three women — were killed on the Indian side. Pakistan reported at least 31 civilians killed and about 50 wounded during Wednesday’s strikes and subsequent shelling, while India said 13 of its civilians were killed and 59 wounded.
At a closed-door political briefing in New Delhi, Indian ministers claimed that over 100 militants had been killed in the strikes, with the count ongoing. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told parliament that Pakistani forces had killed 40–50 Indian soldiers and destroyed Indian military installations along the de-facto border.
India conducted blackout drills in its border regions on Wednesday night. Panic buying was reported in several cities in Punjab, the Indian state bordering Pakistan, as residents stocked up on essentials fearing further escalation.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that New Delhi did not seek to escalate the conflict but warned of a firm response to any further attacks. “If there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt it will be met with a very, very firm response,” he said during a joint commission meeting with Iran.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that communications had taken place between the national security advisers of both countries and that the military hotline remained operational. He did not provide further details.
