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The death toll from India and Pakistan’s biggest clashes in decades passed 50 on Friday with each country accusing the other of sending waves of drone attacks.The escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals follows an attack on tourists in the Indian-run part of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 people on April 22 and Indian air strikes on “terrorist camps” on Wednesday.In the third day of tit-for-tat exchanges since, the Indian army that it “repulsed” Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions overnight and gave a “befitting reply”.India also accused Pakistani forces on Thursday of targeting three military stations — two in Kashmir and one in the neighbouring state of Punjab.Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said Pakistan has “not targeted any locations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, or across international border, so far”. Five civilians were killed including a two-year-old girl by Indian shelling overnight in areas along the heavily militarised Line of Control, Pakistani security and governments officials said. “In response, the Pakistan Army carried out a strong counterattack, targeting three Indian posts across the Line of Control (LoC),” police official Adeel Khan, based in Kotli district where four of the deaths occurred, told AFP.Pakistani military sources said that its military had shot down 77 Indian drones in the last two days, claiming they were Israeli-made.In Indian-administered Kashmir, a police official said one woman died after heavy overnight shelling in Uri, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the state capital Srinagar, and two men were wounded.”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 Pakistan-administered Kashmir where a mosque was hit in Wednesday’s strikes.In Indian-administered Jammu, Piyush Singh, a 21-year-old student, said: “Our [attack] is justified because we are doing it for whatever happened to our civilians.”- Schools closed -India and Pakistan have fought several wars over Kashmir which has been split since 1947 when British colonial rule ended and which both countries claim in full.Pakistan has rejected claims by India’s government that it was behind last month’s attack, calling for an independent investigation.Pakistani authorities insist they have the right to retaliate to India’s initial strikes. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would “avenge” those killed by Indian air strikes.On Friday schools were closed on both sides of the Pakistan and Indian border in Kashmir and Punjab, 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 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket mega tournament was also suspended for a week, the Indian cricket board announced.This came after an IPL match was abandoned in Dharamsala, less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the town of 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.India has ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts, the platform said, adding that it was reluctantly complying with what it described as government-imposed “censorship”.The move appears to be part of India’s sweeping crackdown targeting social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations.- ‘Immediate 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”.burs-ecl/stu

India said Friday it had repulsed a wave of Pakistani drone and artillery attacks overnight, and Islamabad insisted it had not struck targets across the border, as the latest conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours showed no signs of relenting.Nearly 50 people have been killed on both sides, mainly in Pakistan, since India launched air strikes on Wednesday targeting “terrorist camps” and sparking the worst clashes in decades.New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing an April 22 attack near Pahalgam, a tourist town on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir which killed 26 people, almost all of them travellers and Hindu men.Pakistan denies the claim.The countries have fought two of their three full-scale wars over Kashmir, a disputed territory that both claim in full but have administered separate portions of since 1947 when the sub-continent was divided into two nations after British colonial rule ended.”Pakistan Armed Forces launched multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along entire Western border on the intervening night of 08 and 09 May,” the Indian army said in a statement on Friday.”The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and befitting reply was given,” it said.Islamabad denied launching drone attacks after India on Thursday said Pakistani forces targeted three military stations — two in Kashmir and one in the neighbouring state of Punjab.”Pakistan has not targeted any locations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, or across international border, so far,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said late Thursday.In Indian-administered Kashmir, a police official said one woman died after heavy overnight shelling in Uri, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the state capital Srinagar, and two men were wounded.- Airports, schools closed’ -Schools were closed on Friday in parts of Kashmir, six border districts in the neighbouring state of Punjab and in the provincial capital Chandigarh, and Rajasthan which also borders Pakistan. India has also closed 24 airports, but according to local media the suspension on civilian flights may be lifted on Saturday morning. The majority of the casualties have been in Pakistan, where at least 32 people have been killed, including 12 children.Islamabad said Thursday its forces had neutralised 29 Israeli-made Harop drones that attacked Pakistan.The cities targeted included Rawalpindi, headquarters of the military and also the cricket stadium hosting the ongoing Pakistan Super League. The remaining matches of the league have been moved to the United Arab Emirates.Indian cricket bosses will decide Friday what happens to the rest of their IPL season, a senior official said, in the face of the deadly confrontations.A match in Dharamsala — less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Jammu, where explosions were reported hours earlier — was abandoned late Thursday because of apparent floodlight failure. India meanwhile ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts, the platform said, adding that it was reluctantly complying with what it described as government-imposed “censorship”.The move appears to be part of India’s sweeping crackdown targeting social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisationsNew Delhi has blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the April 22 shooting near Pahalgam.Pakistan has denied involvement and called for an independent investigation.- ‘Immediate de-escalation’ -Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries for restraint.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders in both countries Thursday and urged “immediate de-escalation”, his spokeswoman said.US Vice President JD Vance echoed that call but added 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.Amnesty said the warring sides “must take all necessary measures to protect civilians and minimise any suffering and casualties”.Pakistani authorities insist they have the right to retaliate to India’s initial strikes. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would “avenge” those killed by Indian air strikes.burs-ach/fox

India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks, as deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes drew global calls for calm.The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.On Thursday, Pakistan’s army said it shot down 28 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Islamabad of launching raids with “drones and missiles”, and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore.At least 48 people have been killed on both sides of the border since India launched air strikes on Wednesday that it said targeted “terrorist camps”, sparking the worst violence in decades between the South Asian neighbours.The majority of the casualties have been in Pakistan, where authorities said at least 32 were killed, including 12 children.The countries have fought two of their three full-scale wars over Kashmir, a disputed territory that both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.- Explosions in Jammu -“Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets… using drones and missiles,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding that “these were neutralised”.The defence ministry said earlier its military had “targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan”, adding it had destroyed an air defence system in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city.On Thursday evening, explosions were reported at the airport of Jammu, a key city in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, a security source who was not authorised to speak to the media told AFP, without giving further details.Pakistan denied that it had launched any strikes on India on Thursday, with the top military spokesman terming India’s drone strikes a “phantom defence”.- Blasts in Lahore -Pakistan called Delhi’s drone attacks “another act of aggression”, and said it had neutralised 28 out of 29 Israeli-made Harop drones that crossed into the country on Thursday.Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the drones “made attempts to attack military installations” and “targeted civilians”, killing one and injuring four, with four army personnel also wounded.Among the cities targeted was Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered. The city’s cricket stadium was one of the venues of the Pakistan Super League, which later announced its remaining eight matches would be moved to the United Arab Emirates.Residents in Lahore reported hearing the sound of blasts, and aviation authorities briefly shut down operations at the main airport there and in the capital Islamabad.- ‘Shrapnel pierced her chest’ -India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said New Delhi had a “right to respond” following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir last month, when gunmen killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men.New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the Pahalgam shooting, and the nations traded days of threats and diplomatic measures.Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation into the April 22 attack.Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday that five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but New Delhi has not responded to the claims.An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.There was trauma on both sides of the disputed border after the exchange of heavy artillery in darkness on Wednesday.”A missile struck the mosque nearby, and a piece of shrapnel from the blast pierced my daughter’s chest,” 50-year-old Safeer Ahmad Awan told AFP in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was hit by Wednesday’s Indian strikes.”It was only when her clothes were soaked in blood that we discovered the injury,” he added of the 15-year-old girl, who still had the metal lodged in her body.On the other side of the border in Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded by Pakistan on Wednesday, Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed.”She saw two children running out of her neighbour’s house and screamed for them to get back inside,” said Choudhary, 29.”But shrapnel hit the children — and they eventually died.”- Global pressure -Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders in both countries Thursday and urged “immediate de-escalation”, his spokeswoman said.US Vice President JD Vance later reiterated that call in a televised interview, but added 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.Pakistani authorities insist they have the right to retaliate to India’s initial strikes. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would “avenge” those killed by Indian air strikes.”We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs,” he said.burs-ecl-aha/des

Pakistan’s T20 cricket league will be relocated to the United Arab Emirates, officials said Friday, after Indian attacks on the country including a drone that reached Rawalpindi stadium. Pakistan’s army “neutralised” 28 Indian drones, including one near the city’s stadium on Thursday morning, the foreign minister Ishaq Dar said.He called it “a deliberate attempt to target domestic and foreign cricket players”.”Pakistan Cricket Board confirms that the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League has been shifted to the UAE,” read a PCB release, which added that the schedule would be updated in due course.The decision was reached after several meetings between the franchise and the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the country’s interior minister.Former champions Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi were due to play at Rawalpindi stadium on Thursday but the match was postponed after a drone fell close to the stadium.Thirty-seven foreign players including from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are involved in the League.Sources told AFP foreign players did not want stay in Pakistan after deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes drew global calls for calm.India sent air strikes into Pakistan on Wednesday, two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.Pakistan responded with heavy artillery fire and both sides accused each other on Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks.International cricket resumed in Pakistan in 2020 after remaining suspended in the wake of 2009 terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore.Several Australian and New Zealand players involved in the PSL’s recent edition, including Australia’s David Warner, had travelled to Pakistan with their national teams in the recent past.

India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks, as deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes drew global calls for calm.The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.India on Wednesday launched missiles it said targeted “terrorist camps”, and Pakistan retaliated with a barrage of artillery strikes, with at least 48 deaths reported on both sides since the escalation, 32 of them in Pakistan, including children.The South Asian neighbours have fought multiple wars over Kashmir since the end of British rule in 1947.Pakistan’s army said it shot down 28 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Islamabad of launching overnight raids with “drones and missiles”, and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore.”Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets… using drones and missiles,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding that “these were neutralised”.The defence ministry said earlier its military had “targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan”, adding it had been “reliably learnt that an air defence system at Lahore has been neutralised”.On Thursday evening, explosions were reported at the airport of Jammu, a key city in the Indian-held part of disputed Kashmir, a security source who was unauthorised to speak to the media told AFP, without giving further details.Shesh Paul Vaid, a former director general of police for Jammu and Kashmir, also wrote on social media that there were “loud explosions”. – Blasts heard in Lahore -Pakistan’s military said on Thursday it had neutralised 28 out of 29 Israeli-made Harop drones that crossed into the country in “another act of aggression by India”.Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the drones “made attempts to attack military installations” and “targeted civilians”, killing one and injuring four, while four army personnel were also wounded.Among the cities targeted was Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered and the cricket stadium is hosting the Pakistan Super League. Residents in Lahore reported hearing the sound of blasts, and aviation authorities briefly shut down operations at the main airport there and in the capital, Islamabad.Karachi airport remained closed on Thursday evening.Trading was halted on Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index after it slumped 6.3 percent on news of the drone attacks.- ‘Shrapnel pierced her chest’ -India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said New Delhi had a “right to respond” following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir last month, when gunmen killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men.New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the Pahalgam shooting, and the nations traded days of threats and diplomatic measures.Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation into the April 22 attack.Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday that five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but New Delhi has not responded to the claims.An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.There was trauma on both sides of the disputed border after the exchange of heavy artillery in darkness on Wednesday.”A missile struck the mosque nearby, and a piece of shrapnel from the blast pierced my daughter’s chest,” 50-year-old Safeer Ahmad Awan told AFP in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan Kashmir that was targeted by Indian air strikes.”It was only when her clothes were soaked in blood that we discovered the injury,” he added of the 15-year-old girl, who still has the metal lodged in her body.On the other side of the border in Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded on Wednesday, and bore the brunt of shelling by Pakistan, Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed by shells.”She saw two children running out of her neighbour’s house and screamed for them to get back inside,” said Choudhary, 29.”But shrapnel hit the children — and they eventually died.”- Global pressure -Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.”I want to see them stop,” US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.Top US diplomat Marco Rubio spoke with leaders of both countries Thursday and urged “immediate de-escalation,” his spokeswoman said.Meanwhile Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate.Based on past conflicts, analyst Happymon Jacob — director of the New Delhi-based Council for Strategic and Defence Research, said the latest would “likely end in a few iterations of exchange of long-range gunfire or missiles into each other’s territory”.In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would “avenge” those killed by Indian air strikes.”We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs,” he said.burs-ecl/des

England’s Maro Itoje said it was a “tremendous honour” to be named captain of the British and Irish Lions rugby union team on their upcoming tour of Australia as the squad was announced Thursday.The 30-year-old lock only took over as England skipper ahead of this season’s Six Nations but guided the side to a creditable second-placed finish behind champions France.Now he has been chosen as skipper for a Lions tour including three Tests against the Wallabies by head coach Andy Farrell, seconded from his day job as Ireland boss.”It’s a tremendous honour, it’s a tremendous privilege,” said Itoje after taking the stage at London’s O2 Arena where some 2,000 spectators were present — the first time there had been an audience of fans for a Lions squad announcement.”You think about the people who have held this position before and it’s remarkable. It’s an honour and I will do my very best to make sure I can contribute to a successful tour.”Farrell said: “As a two-time tourist (in 2017 and 2021), Maro fully understands what the Lions is all about and also the role of the captain in helping the group achieve its goal of winning a Test series this summer.”Itoje’s path to the Lions captaincy was eased when his main rival for the coveted post, Caelan Doris, suffered a shoulder injury playing in Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton last weekend.The Ireland No 8 was ruled out of the squad as he requires surgery. Itoje is the first English player to lead the Lions — made up of leading players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales — since Martin Johnson in 2001.But there was no place in a 38-man squad for former England captain Owen Farrell, the son of Andy Farrell.Owen Farrell is barred from representing England after deciding to play his club rugby outside of the country at Paris-based Racing 92, and has suffered an injury-hit debut season in France.Scotland back three Blair Kinghorn, who plays for Top 14 and European champions Toulouse, was the lone France-based player in the squad. – Pollock the ‘bolter’ -Henry Pollock may be a fledgling international but the 20-year-old Northampton back-row is the latest ‘bolter’ to be chosen by the 137-year-old Lions.Pollock only made his England debut in March, but came off the bench to score two tries during a 68-14 rout of Wales in Cardiff in the last round of the Six Nations.Pollock has since underlined that form and was outstanding in Northampton’s 37-34 victory away to Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.Scotland’s Finn Russell is one of three fly-halves in the squad together with the England duo of Marcus Smith and Fin Smith after England veteran George Ford and Ireland rising star Sam Prendergast missed out.Australia-born centre Sione Tuipulotu, absent from the whole Six Nations with injury, was one of eight Scotland players selected, with Ireland (15) and England (13) providing the bulk of the squad.Back row Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams were the only two Welsh players included, with Wales having not won a Test since the 2023 World Cup.”Getting it down to the final 38 — it is my job to play devil’s advocate,” said Farrell. “From 55 (players) to the 38 is extremely difficult.”The 10-match Lions tour begins with a fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.The first Test against Australia will be in Brisbane on July 19, with two more internationals in Melbourne (July 26) and Sydney (August 2) to follow.The Wallabies have long been regarded as the easiest side for the Lions, who only tour one of Australia and rugby superpowers New Zealand an South Africa once every four years, to beat.Indeed the last time the Lions won a Test series was their 2-1 success against Australia back in 2013. But the Wallabies have been making significant progress since Joe Schmidt took charge shortly after a woeful 2023 World Cup in France, where they failed to reach the knockout stage for the first time.The Kiwi coach also has the added advantage of knowing several Lions players, and indeed Andy Farrell, well following his six-year stint as Ireland boss.

England’s Maro Itoje will captain the British and Irish Lions rugby union team on their upcoming tour of Australia, it was announced Thursday.The 30-year-old lock only took over as England skipper ahead of this season’s Six Nations and guided the side to a creditable second-placed finish behind champions France.Now he has been chosen as skipper for a Lions tour including three Tests against the Wallabies by head coach, Andy Farrell, seconded from his day job as Ireland boss.”It’s hard to articulate,” said Itoje after taking the stage at London’s O2 Arena for a squad announcement where fans were present for the first time.”It’s a tremendous honour, it’s a tremendous privilege. You think about the people who have held this position before and it’s remarkable. It’s an honour and I will do my very best to make sure I can contribute to a successful tour.”Itoje, a previous two-time tourist with the Lions — a side made up of leading players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales — is the first English player to lead the combined team since Martin Johnson in 2001. A tour featuring three Tests with the Wallabies will in fact start with a fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.The first Test against Australia will be in Brisbane on July 19, with two more internationals in Melbourne (July 26) and Sydney (August 2).Australia have long been regarded as the easiest side for the Lions, who only tour every four years, to beat.The only other teams they have played series against in their 137-year history are New Zealand and South Africa, the traditional powerhouses of the 15-a-side code who have won seven World Cups between them.Indeed the last time the Lions won a Test series was their 2-1 success against Australia back in 2013. But the Wallabies have been making significant progress since Joe Schmidt took charge shortly after a woeful 2023 World Cup in France, where they failed to reach the knockout stage for the first time.The Kiwi coach also has the added advantage of knowing several Lions players, and indeed Andy Farrell, well following his six-year stint as Ireland boss.

Australia women’s football captain Sam Kerr and her partner Kristie Mewis announced Thursday the birth of their first child. The footballing couple, who are due to be married later this December, announced that they were expecting a baby back in November. “Our little man is here. Jagger Mewis-Kerr,” the pair said in an Instagram post on Thursday. Matildas star Kerr is a striker for English Women’s Super League champions Chelsea, while United States international Mewis plays for London rivals West Ham.  In February, Kerr was found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment after calling a British police officer “stupid and white” following a drunken night out.However, the judge at the court in London said the 31-year-old’s “behaviour contributed significantly to the bringing of this allegation”.

Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed in the town of Poonch that bore the brunt of this week’s shelling by Pakistan, with India saying a total of 13 people died there.”She saw two children running out of her neighbour’s house and screamed for them to get back inside,” Choudhary, 29, from the town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded on Wednesday, told AFP.”But shrapnel hit the children — and they eventually died,” Choudhary said. His sister was still too distraught to talk.The deadly artillery barrage that killed a total of 16 people and injured dozens more hours after India launched strikes on Pakistan.Those was in response to an attack in the disputed Kashmir region on April 22 that killed 26 people and which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad — a charge it rejects.Islamabad said that the Indian strikes and firing along the border has killed 31 civilians.- Shattered glass -Dazed, shocked and in mourning, other Poonch residents described being terrified in the long hours of bombardment that began in the dead of night.”A shell fell… It was right next to our house, where we were. It fell and we panicked… a glass window shattered,” said Shariyar Ali, 25, a student.Ali, like hundreds of others, has since fled with his family some 30 kilometres (20 miles) away to the small town of Surankote, further away from the range of the guns.”The shelling around my home caused many casualties”, said Kumail Nadeem, 25, another student who ran from Poonch. “We knew personally those killed.””We have seen shelling before, the border is like three kilometres away,” said Zaheer Ahmed Banday, 30, who runs a small shop in Poonch.”But when they hit the city, that was unexpected. I picked up a shirt and trousers, phone and charger, and left the house as is.”- ‘Each drop of blood’ -Much of Poonch — where buildings hit by artillery fire could be seen — is now deserted, but a few people have stayed.”Where can we go?” said businessman Arvinder Pal Singh, 40, who had hunkered down with his wife, two children and parents during the shelling.”We spent the night huddled on the ground floor of our house. We haven’t seen this fear and shelling like this — ever.”Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in an address to the nation late Wednesday, vowed to “avenge each drop of the blood” of those killed by India’s strikes.”Everyone is afraid”, said Sohail Sarwar, 30, a shopkeeper in Surankote.This was echoed by fellow grocery store owner, Sanjay Ghai, 60, who said people were buying essential items in case of more bombardment.”There is so much fear and panic about what could happen in the coming days. People are stocking up,” Ghai told AFP.India and Pakistan have fought multiple times since the violent end of British rule in 1947, when colonial officers drew straight-line borders on maps to partition the nations, dividing communities.Muslim-majority Kashmir — claimed by both India and Pakistan — has been a repeated flashpoint.But for younger generations, the violence was the worst they had witnessed.”I have never seen such intense shelling in my lifetime, it is something that my parents used to tell us about”, added Nadeem. “It is something very new for us, which is why we are also afraid.”Iqbal Singh, 75, a tailor in Poonch, was the only non-essential business open in the market on Thursday.”I’ve lived through 1965, 1971, 1999 wars and everything in between. This is just another episode. It’s okay,” he told AFP at his shop next to a Sikh temple that was damaged in the shelling.”It too shall pass.”

Pakistan’s army said Thursday it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades.Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border.At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children.Pakistan’s military said in a statement Thursday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan’s military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said from the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, where a drone was downed.”One managed to engage in a military target near Lahore,” he said, adding that four troops in the city were injured.He earlier said the operation was ongoing.One civilian was killed and another injured in Sindh as a result of the drone incidents. Crowds gathered at crash sites, some close to army installations, to gaze at the debris. Blasts could be heard across Lahore.The Civil Aviation Authority said Karachi airport was closed until 6 pm (1300 GMT), while Islamabad and Lahore were briefly shut “for operational reasons”.Pakistan and Indian have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority disputed region of Kashmir — divided between the two but claimed in full by both.”We will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs,” Sharif said, in an address to the nation.- ‘Right to respond’ -Speaking after the Wednesday missile strike, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said New Delhi had a “right to respond” following an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir last month, when gunmen killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men.New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the Pahalgam shooting, and the nations traded days of threats and diplomatic measures.Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation into the April 22 attack.India said on Wednesday it had destroyed nine “terrorist camps” in Pakistan in “focused, measured and non-escalatory” strikes.Islamabad said Wednesday that 31 civilians were killed by Indian strikes and firing along the border.New Delhi said 13 civilians and a soldier had been killed by Pakistani fire.Pakistan’s military also said five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but New Delhi has not responded to the claims.An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.- ‘Screamed’ -The largest Indian strike was on an Islamic seminary near the Punjabi city of Bahawalpur, killing 13 people according to the Pakistan military. Muhammad Riaz said he and his family had been made homeless after Indian strikes hit Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.”There is no place to live,” he said. “There is no space at the house of our relatives. We are very upset, we have nowhere to go.”On the Indian side of the frontier on Wednesday, Madasar Choudhary, 29, described how his sister saw two children killed in Poonch, where Pakistan military carried out shelling. “She saw two children running out of her neighbour’s house and screamed for them to get back inside,” Choudhary said, narrating her account because she was too shocked to speak.”But shrapnel hit the children — and they eventually died.”- ‘No pushover’ -India on Thursday braced for Pakistan’s threatened retaliation.In an editorial on Thursday, the Indian Express wrote “there is no reason to believe that the Pakistan Army has been chastened by the Indian airstrikes”, adding that Indian military experts were “aware that Pakistan’s armed forces are no pushover”.”Border districts on high alert,” The Hindu newspaper headline read, adding that “India must be prepared for escalatory action” by Pakistan.Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.”I want to see them stop,” US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is slated to meet his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate.Analysts said they were fully expecting Pakistani military action to “save face” in a response to India.”India’s limited objectives are met,” said Happymon Jacob, director of the New Delhi-based think tank Council for Strategic and Defence Research.”Pakistan has a limited objective of ensuring that it carries out a retaliatory strike to save face domestically and internationally. So, that is likely to happen.”Based on past conflicts, he believed it would “likely end in a few iterations of exchange of long-range gunfire or missiles into each other’s territory”. burs-pjm/ecl/lb