Sawt Falasteen - Pakistan says Indian missiles strike air bases as conflict spirals

The South Asian countries have exchanged fire since Wednesday, when India launched air strikes on what it called "terrorist" sites in Pakistani territory after a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of the divided Kashmir region.

The clashes -- which have involved missiles, drones, and exchanges of fire along the de-facto border in disputed Kashmir -- are the worst in decades and have killed more than 50 civilians.

Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in a live broadcast aired by state television in the middle of the night said India had "attacked with missiles" targeting three air bases.

He said a "majority of the missiles" had been intercepted and "no flying assets" had been damaged.

One of the bases targeted, Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, the garrison city where the army is headquartered, is around 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

Several blasts were heard from the capital overnight.

The air base is used to receive foreign dignitaries and Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir had departed just hours earlier.

"Now you just wait for our response," Chaudhry warned India.

- Disputed Kashmir -

The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men.

India blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba -- a UN-designated terrorist organisation -- for the attack but Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe.

The countries have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.

Previous clashes have been mostly limited to the Kashmir region, separated by a heavily militarised border known as the Line of Control, but this time India has struck multiple cities deep in Pakistan.

Pakistan's foreign ministry alleged New Delhi's "reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top security officials on Friday, including his national security advisor, defence minister and the chiefs of the armed forces, his office said.

Most of the more than 50 deaths were in Pakistan during Wednesday's first air strikes by India, and included children.

- Drone warfare -

On Friday, the Indian army said it had "repulsed" waves of Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions overnight, and gave a "befitting reply".

Pakistani military sources said its forces had shot down 77 in the last two days, with debris of many incursions seen by AFP in cities across the country.

An Indian army spokeswoman on Friday spoke of "300 to 400" Pakistani drones, but it was impossible to verify that claim independently.

Pakistan has accused India of fabricating the drone strikes, and early Saturday its military claimed Delhi's forces had bombed their own territory in Amritsar, without providing evidence.

Civilians have come under fire on both sides, with Islamabad and New Delhi accusing each other of carrying out unprovoked artillery shelling, and missile and drone strikes.

On Friday, shelling along the LoC killed five civilians including a two-year-old girl on the Pakistan said, officials said.

Across the border, a police official said one woman was killed and two men wounded by heavy shelling.

- Disruptions -

Armed groups have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Modi's Hindu nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and took the state under direct rule by New Delhi.

The conflict has caused major disruptions to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that do not overfly the India-Pakistan frontier.

India has closed 24 airports, with local media reporting the suspension would remain in place until next week.

Schools have also closed on areas close to the border on both sides, affecting millions of children.

The mega Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament was on Friday suspended for a week, while Pakistan suspended its own T20 franchise competition indefinitely, barely a day after relocating it to the United Arab Emirates over the violence.

World powers have called for both sides to exercise "restraint", with several offering to mediate the dispute.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Indian counterpart in Delhi on Thursday, days after visiting Pakistan.

The International Crisis Group, however, said "foreign powers appear to have been somewhat indifferent" to the prospect of war, despite warnings of possible escalation.

burs-ecl/tym

H.Darwish--SF-PST