By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched a major counter-attack against India early Saturday, targeting key military installations in what it described as a “befitting response” to Indian aggression.
The operation, named “Bunyan-un-Marsoos” or “firm foundation,” followed a series of Indian missile strikes on three Pakistani airbases, escalating a conflict that has already claimed dozens of lives on both sides of the border.
“These actions are being carried out in response to India’s initial attack, which was an assault on our homeland, people, and sovereignty,” the government confirmed the strikes in a statement. “The operation was ongoing and that more targets in India were being hit.”
Among the key targets destroyed were a storage site for Brahmos missiles in India’s Beas region, an airbase in Udhampur, and an airfield in Pathankot, according to state media outlets PTV News and Radio Pakistan.
The military also reported destroying Brigade Headquarters, a site known as “K G Top,” and a supply depot in Uri. “All those bases in India which were used to attack Pakistani people and Masajids are being targeted.”
The counter-attack came hours after India targeted three Pakistani airbases: Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Chakwal, and one in Shorkot.
Military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, confirmed the Indian strikes in a late-night address, saying, “Now you just wait for our response.”
The conflict, which began on Wednesday, has rapidly intensified. India claims it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan in retaliation for an April 22 attack in occupied Kashmir, which it blames on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement and insists the sites hit were not militant bases. On the same day, Pakistan said it shot down five Indian aircraft.
Tensions spiked further on Friday when Pakistan’s military reported shooting down 77 Indian drones over multiple locations, including Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. Early Saturday, reports emerged of an Indian missile strike on the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, located near the Pakistani military’s headquarters and just 10 kilometers from Islamabad.
In a dramatic late-night statement at 1:50 a.m. local time, Maj. Gen. Chaudhry accused India of firing six ballistic missiles from Adampur, saying one hit Adampur itself while the others landed in Amritsar, in Indian Punjab. “
I want to give you the shocking news that India fired six ballistic missiles from Adampur. One of the ballistic missiles hit in Adampur, the rest of the five missiles hit in the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar,” he said in a short video broadcast on national television.
Indian media reported that Amritsar’s district commissioner urged calm in a text message to residents between Friday and Saturday, saying, “Don’t panic. Siren is sounding as we are under red alert. Do not panic, as before, keep lights off, move away from windows. We will inform you when ready to resume power supply.”
As the conflict escalated, explosion-like sounds were reported in Punjab’s Pathankot district early Saturday, according to The Times of India. A blackout was enforced in the area on Friday night, with officials advising residents to stay indoors.
Indian media also reported an explosion and smoke rising in the Dibber area of Udhampur, in India-occupied Kashmir, shortly after Pakistan announced its counter-attack.
The Pakistani military has symbolically named the Al-Fatah missiles used in the operation after children killed in earlier Indian strikes, underscoring the human toll of the conflict. At least 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to unverified casualty estimates from both sides.
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