India and Pakistan exchanged artillery and drone fire across the disputed Kashmir border for a third consecutive day on Friday, marking the deadliest military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors since the 1999 Kargil conflict. Indian authorities said Pakistani forces launched "multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along [the] entire Western Border," prompting a forceful military response.
India's Ministry of Defence said its forces repelled Pakistani drone attacks and retaliated against what it described as "numerous ceasefire violations." "The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and befitting reply was given to the CFVs (ceasefire violations)," the Indian army stated, adding all "nefarious designs" would be responded to with "force."
In Pakistani Kashmir, officials said early Friday shelling from across the border killed five civilians, including an infant, and injured 29. Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar dismissed India's military account as "baseless and misleading," insisting that Pakistan had not conducted "offensive actions" against Indian territory.
The flare-up follows an Indian airstrike on what New Delhi claims were "terrorist camps" inside Pakistan, launched in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack last month that killed 26 Indian tourists in Kashmir. Pakistan has denied involvement in the April assault and has called for an independent investigation.
The violence has so far killed approximately four dozen people across both countries. Artillery exchanges were reported in the Uri region and Samba district in Indian-administered Kashmir. A security official in Uri, speaking anonymously, said: "Several houses caught fire and were damaged in the shelling in the Uri sector... one woman was killed and three people were injured in overnight shelling."
Air raid sirens wailed for hours in Amritsar, home to the Sikh holy site Golden Temple, and the city saw mass tourist departures following the closure of its airport. "We really wanted to stay but the loud sounds, sirens, and blackouts are giving us sleepless nights," said a British national. "Our families back home are worried for us so we have booked a cab and are leaving."
Elsewhere, authorities in Bhuj, Gujarat, prepared evacuation transport for border residents, while schools in Rajasthan's Bikaner region were closed as a precaution. India's Directorate General of Shipping issued a security alert to all ports, terminals, and shipyards, citing "growing concerns regarding potential threats."
Explosions were reported in Jammu city overnight. "For two to three minutes it became very loud, windows started shaking as if they will break," said Ansab, a student at Sher-e-Kashmir University in Jammu. She described the air as "smoggy" with a thick mix of smoke and fog.
The Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament was suspended after a Thursday match was halted midway when floodlights were turned off during a blackout. Panic buying was also reported in several cities.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars-two over Kashmir-since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Tensions have simmered for decades, with regular skirmishes along the Line of Control, though the recent fighting marks a dramatic escalation with India targeting cities beyond Pakistani-controlled Kashmir for the first time since the 1971 war.
