India and Pakistan carried out fresh airstrikes Saturday, using drones and missiles fired from fighter jets, in a fresh and significant escalation of the military conflict between the two nuclear neighbors. Both nations accused the other of firing first, claiming they had acted in retaliation. Their respective militaries did not specify whether fighter jets had crossed into the other's territory, but confirmed that aircraft were used in the overnight attacks.
In an early Saturday morning briefing, Pakistani officials said India had launched missiles at three air bases inside the country, but that most were intercepted and that "retaliatory strikes" on India were underway. The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.
A few hours later, India accused Pakistan of attacking "the medicare center and school premises at the air bases of Srinagar, Awantipora and Udhampur" using "UCAV, drones, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter aircrafts to target civilian areas and military infrastructure."
A paramilitary soldier stands alert on a road near Karachi port, amid rising military tension between Pakistan and India, in Karachi, Pakistan, May 9, 2025.
Fareed Khan/AP
It's the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a deadly terrorist attack last month that India has blamed on Pakistan, but for which Pakistan has denied any culpability.
Pakistan Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said in televised remarks that Pakistan's air force assets were safe following the Indian strikes, adding that some of the Indian missiles also hit India's eastern Punjab province.
"This is a provocation of the highest order," Sharif said.
The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to the spokesman.
India said its armed forces carried out attacks on Pakistan's technical infrastructure, command and control centers, radar sites and weapon storage areas at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian, using "air-launched precision weapons from our fighter aircrafts."
India also claimed it targeted Pakistan's radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation base using precision munitions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting on Saturday with the country's defense minister and other commanders.
A heavy exchange of fire was heard along the Line of Control — the de-facto border between the two countries in the mountainous Kashmir region — through Friday night, with loud explosions in major towns and cities near the border. India said some civilians were killed in the shelling by Pakistan, without giving specific casualty figures.
"Indian Armed Forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan Military," Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force said in a Saturday morning press briefing.
India also denied Pakistan's claims to have destroyed an Indian S-400 Air Defense System and Air Force Stations in Sirsa and Surat.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir Friday and, "continued to urge both parties to find ways to deescalate and offered U.S. assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts."
Secretary Rubio also spoke with India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar Saturday morning, who said, "India's approach has always been measured and responsible and remains so."
Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since the attack at a popular tourist site in India-administered Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denied that it had carried out drone attacks.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan over the Himalayan region of Kashmir goes back decades. Both nations claim all of Kashmir as their own territory, but each controls only part of it. Another, northeastern portion of the region is administered by China, which has long been a point of friction between Delhi and Beijing.
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