Pakistan launched retaliatory attacks against India on Saturday after three of its air bases were targeted overnight, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. The strikes follow days of growing hostilities, raising fears of a full-blown war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The Pakistani military responded to what it said were Indian missile attacks on its territory.

Military spokesperson Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry stated in a late-night televised address that three Pakistani air bases had been struck, but most of the missiles were intercepted and "no flying assets" were damaged.

One of the targeted bases was Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, just 10 kilometers from the capital, Islamabad. The base, which regularly receives foreign dignitaries, had hosted Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir only hours before the strikes. 

“Now you just wait for our response,” Chaudhry warned India.

Escalation in Kashmir involves missiles and drone warfare

The recent flare-up began on Wednesday, when India launched airstrikes on Pakistani territory following a terror incident in India-controlled Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan. Since then, both countries have exchanged missile fire, engaged in drone warfare, and clashed along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir.

The Indian army reported additional attacks by Pakistan on Saturday. “Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border,” the army stated on X.

In Srinagar, the capital of India-administered Kashmir, AFP journalists reported hearing loud explosions. Meanwhile, in Amritsar, a key military cantonment in Punjab bordering Kashmir, the Indian army said multiple drones were "instantly engaged and destroyed" by air defense units.

The Kashmir escalation has resulted in the deaths of more than 50 civilians, making it the worst violence in decades between the two countries. The G7 group of industrialised nations has called for restraint, and the United States has offered to mediate as tensions spiral.

International observers fear that continued provocation could push the nuclear-armed neighbours toward an uncontrollable conflict with devastating regional implications.