India-Pakistan standoff escalates after drone attack and Balakot airstrike. On Thursday evening, India accused Pakistan of carrying out an attack involving 400 drones. In the process, these drones bombed urban centers, military bases and mosques across northern India. The Indian government reported intercepting hundreds of drones that allegedly crossed the border into Indian-administered Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat.
Sameer Ahmed via Unsplash Pakistan has strongly rejected these accusations, calling India’s assertions “false and fabricated.” Pakistan’s military spokesman, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, unequivocally denied that Pakistan has conducted any cross-border offensive operations. He reiterated this position in a Statement of Administration Policy issued last week. Pakistan countered with its own large scale military operation, following the same accusations. This operation led to a cascading series of retaliatory drone strikes targeting Indian military defense infrastructure.
It became even more complicated as the two countries found themselves embroiled in an hour-long, pitch aerial dogfight. Reports indicated that Pakistan scrambled more than 100–150 aircraft to interdict the strikes being flown by Indian jets. India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, reacted by condemning the deliberate targeting of religious sites by Pakistan military. He condemned the attacks on temples and gurdwaras as a new nadir for their bilateral relations.
India’s military claimed it had conducted four cross-border strikes in response to the Pakistani incursions. Following the incident, investigators were able to locate wreckage from at least three fighter jets in Indian-administered Kashmir and Punjab. Among the wreckage was a piece from an elite French Rafale fighter jet.
Chaudhry’s message could not have been clearer — Pakistan would not relent on its military strategy. He has made clear this stance when responding to actions taken by India. He stated, “not de-escalate – with the damages India did on our side, they should take a hit.” He went on to say that although Pakistan had played the defensive game up to this point, Pakistan would deliver the killer punch at the appropriate time.
The most impacted region from the confirmed drone strikes was found to be Jammu in India-controlled Kashmir. Ajay Lakhotra, a local official, commented on the extraordinary nature of the events, stating, “Skirmishes and exchanges of gunfire are nothing new to us, but what happened on Thursday night was extraordinary.”
In what was yet another serious escalation of tensions, India is said to have fired several ballistic missiles into the territory rim that landed inside Pakistan. Pakistani officials claimed Adampur was hit by six ballistic missiles. This led some to speculate that these missiles were targeting Pakistani territory.
In response to the unfolding situation, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting characterized Pakistan’s claims as “grossly exaggerated.” The ministry criticized the manipulation of the situation into a disinformation campaign, stating that “What should have been a moment of international reckoning against terror has instead been manipulated into a disinformation war, where truth is the first casualty.”
India has increased its engagement as tensions have escalated. It has directed X, the company formerly known as Twitter, to suspend more than 8,000 accounts linked to Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media groups. This move is emblematic of India’s increasing wariness toward truth telling in the face of climbing military hostilities.
Chaudhry doubled down on Pakistan’s future willingness to conduct retaliatory strikes, promising that “When we hit back, it would be open for all to see. That declaration highlights how serious it has become as the two countries square off against each other across the globe on several fronts.