By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched a sweeping military counterattack against India early Saturday, striking high-value defence installations, energy infrastructure, and a Russian-made air-defence system in what officials described as a “befitting response” to New Delhi’s missile strikes that targeted three Pakistani airbases in the wee hours.
The dramatic escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals has drawn urgent international calls for de-escalation, with the US and China pushing “constructive talks to avoid future conflicts”.
The operation, codenamed Bunyan-un-Marsoos or ‘firm foundation’ marked Pakistan’s most aggressive military response since hostilities erupted on Wednesday, 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.”
Stata media reported that the country has conducted what it called a “precision-targeted military operation” against Indian defense installations, striking high-profile sites including a $1.2 billion Russian-made S-400 air-defense system and critical energy infrastructure.
The operation purportedly struck the Indian Air Force’s Udhampur airbase in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pathankot airfield in Punjab, and a BrahMos missile storage facility in Nagrota. An artillery position in Dehrangyari was also reportedly destroyed, with state media saying “heavy enemy casualties.”
Most audaciously, the military asserted that its domestically developed JF-17 Thunder fighter jets — a product of Pakistan’s partnership with China — fired missiles described in reports as hypersonic to destroy one of India’s S-400 Triumf systems near Adampur. The S-400, a centrepiece of India’s air-defense network, has been a repeated source of friction between Delhi and Washington, which sanctioned Turkey in 2020 for purchasing the same system from Russia.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called the response “proportionate” and vowed to block India’s bid for regional dominance.
“The tamasha [circus] that India has done in the past three days, we will not let India claim hegemony. The Pakistan Armed Forces and government are determined that this will not happen,” Dar told a local television channel. “This operation that we started today will all end in some way. It all depends on what India wants.”
Dar said the Indian assault forced Pakistan’s civil-military leadership to act, exhausting what he called a long-held policy of restraint.
“Pakistan had no choice, so our civil-military leadership made the decision following the attack on Nur Khan Air Base. No more patience,” Dar said. “We’ve exhibited a lot of patience so far. There is a threshold which we cannot go beyond, especially when it comes to hypocrisy and double standards.”
The deputy PM said Pakistan’s initial response was restrained, targeting only Indian jets that entered its airspace. “Even on the first day, we stayed in our space and attacked those jets that entered Pakistan, five of which we shot down,” he said. “There were clear instructions not to be on the offensive. Our patience has been tested and has run out, and the actions that have been taken are retaliatory and defensive, the world can see that.”
He warned of Pakistan’s readiness to escalate further if provoked. “The action that the Pakistan civil-military leadership has taken is proportionate. Many more actions can be taken, and we are ready for that, but this is minimum action being taken just now which will be continued for a while,” Dar said. “This is proportionate and measured, and everything that they’ve done, we are taking revenge for it.”
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 US and China scrambled to contain the crisis.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urgedg de-escalation in a call with Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Asim Munir. “Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir earlier today,” a statement issued by US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Rubio “continued to urge both parties to find ways to de-escalate and offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts.”
Beijing, a key ally to Islamabad, pressed both nations to “return to the track of political settlement through peaceful means.”
“We strongly call on both India and Pakistan to give priority to peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, return to the track of political settlement through peaceful means and avoid taking actions that further escalate tensions,” a statement by a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
A statement by the Indian army has said that Pakistan’s “drone strikes and other munitions” crossed its borders. The statement claimed that the drones were “instantly engaged”.
Officials say a coordinated cyberattack also disrupted 70 percent of India’s electricity grid. India’s power infrastructure has faced cyber intrusions before, including a 2020 grid failure in Mumbai that US firms later linked to China-based hackers.
Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst, said both countries have not formally declared war, but they are effectively at war.
“There have been increasing hostilities, and we see that after this series of strikes from India, Pakistan responded almost instantaneously, and they continue to fight,” Kugelman said. “… I think that we are seeing India and Pakistan, two nuclear states, at war for the first time since 1999,” Kugelman told Aljazeer TV .
“The fog of war is very deep this time compared to previous India-Pakistan crises, and one reason for that is because of social media and disinformation and how that affects the fog of war. It does seem that you have a lot of accusations and then denials and so on from each side,” he added. “So it is really hard to know exactly what is going on. And there has been a lot of allegations about what has been going on in the last few hours, what’s happened and what has not happened. But what we do know is that both countries have attacked each other’s military facilities and that is very escalatory for sure.”
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.”
Alongside military operations, Pakistan also launched a sweeping cyber offensive, crippling several Indian government and military websites, PTV News news reported. The hacks targeted prominent sites, including those of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Border Security Forces (BSF), the Indian Air Force, and the Maharashtra Election Commission.
Other compromised sites include the Crime Research Investigation Agency, Mahanagar Telecommunication Company Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, All India Naval Technical Supervisory Staff Association, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the Unique Identification Authority of India. PTV News reported that sensitive data had been leaked, though details remain sparse.
“In addition, more than 2,500 surveillance cameras have also been hacked.”
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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