As India continued to provoke nuclear-armed Pakistan following the May 7 missile strikes, Islamabad on Friday warned that New Delhi’s “jingoism and war hysteria" should be a cause of serious concern for the entire world.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said: "It is most unfortunate that India’s reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict."
India launched strikes on Pakistan and AJK early Wednesday morning — an assault that Islamabad called a "blatant act of war" — as tensions spiral between the nuclear-armed rivals after a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) last month.
Islamabad said six Pakistani locations, from mosques to hydropower projects, were targeted.
Pakistan charged India with bringing the nuclear-armed neighbours "closer to a major conflict", as the death toll from three days of missile, artillery and drone attacks passed 50.
Speaking the media today, the FO spokesperson strongly condemned India’s aggression, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to regional peace.
He said Indian strikes targeted civilians, mosques, and damaged infrastructure, including the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project.
India’s claims of targeting terrorist camps were rejected as false, with Pakistan reiterating its offer for a neutral international investigation into the Pahalgam incident. The FO said India failed to provide any evidence and had resorted to fabricated propaganda.
Pakistan was exercising restraint but would act in defence if needed, the spokesperson said.
Pakistani security and government officials said five civilians — including a two-year-old girl — were killed by Indian shelling overnight in areas along the Line of Control (LoC).
"In response, the Pakistan Army carried out a strong counterattack, targeting three Indian posts," police official Adeel Khan, told AFP from Kotli district, where four of the deaths occurred.
Pakistani military sources, meanwhile, said that its forces had shot down 77 Indian drones in the last two days, claiming they were Israeli-made.
"The youth of Kashmir will never forget this act of brutality by India," said 15-year-old Muhammad Bilal in Muzaffarabad, the main city in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) where a mosque was hit in Wednesday’s strikes.
Schools closed
Pakistan has rejected claims by New Delhi that it was behind last month’s attack in Pahalgam, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), when gunmen killed 26 people.
On Friday, schools were closed in AJK, Punjab and IIOJK, affecting tens of millions of children.
India has also closed 24 airports, but according to local media, the suspension on civilian flights may be lifted on Saturday morning.
The conflict has caused major disruption to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that don’t overfly the Indian-Pakistan frontier.
The mega Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament was on Friday suspended for a week, the Indian cricket board announced, a day after a fixture was abandoned in Dharamsala, less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Jammu, where explosions had been reported.
The Pakistan Super League, meanwhile, was moved to the United Arab Emirates, after an Indian drone struck Rawalpindi stadium on Thursday.
Calls for de-escalation
American Vice President JD Vance has called for de-escalation, while underlining that Washington was "not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business".
Several countries have offered to mediate, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi on Thursday, days after visiting Pakistan.
Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries for restraint.
However, the International Crisis Group said "foreign powers appear to have been somewhat indifferent" to the prospect of war, despite warnings of possible escalation.
"A combination of bellicose rhetoric, domestic agitation and the remorseless logic of military one-upmanship have heightened the risks of escalation, particularly because for some time there was no diplomatic communication between the sides," it said.
Amnesty said the warring sides "must take all necessary measures to protect civilians and minimise any suffering and casualties".
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