Islamabad says targeted Indian military sites in retaliation to attacks on Pakistani airbases

This screengrab, taken from a handout video released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on May 10, 2025, shows the launch site of missiles fired at India. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Screengrab)
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Updated 10 May 2025
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Islamabad says targeted Indian military sites in retaliation to attacks on Pakistani airbases

  • The two countries have been engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday, when India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan
  • The latest conflict has alarmed world powers and Secretary Rubio has offered Pakistan army chief assistance in defusing crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has targeted several Indian military sites and destroyed an S-400 missile defense system as part of ‘Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos,’ Pakistani military sources said on Saturday, after India reportedly fired missiles on three of its air bases.

Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said India targeted Nur Khan, Shorkot and Murid air bases, adding that Pakistani air defense system had intercepted a majority of missiles and the few, which had sneaked in, did not cause any damage to Pakistan Air Force assets.

The two countries have been engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday, when India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” over an attack in the disputed Kashmir region. It was difficult to independently verify the claims made by both sides.

“Brahmos storage site has been taken out in general area Bias. Attacks on various other places [in India] in progress. Pathan Kot Airfield, Udhampur Airforce Station hit,” a Pakistani military source said early Saturday.

“All those air bases wherefrom Pakistan was attacked are being attacked simultaneously.”




This screengrab, taken from a handout video released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on May 10, 2025, shows the launch site of missiles fired at India. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Screengrab)

The Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the military has its headquarters, is around 10 kilometers from the capital, Islamabad.

“Now you just wait for our response,” Chaudhry, the Pakistani military spokesman, said in televised remarks prior to Pakistan’s retaliatory attacks.

The Indian army said “multiple enemy drones were spotted flying over” a military cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab, a state adjoining India-administered Kashmir, and were “instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defense units.”

“Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border,” it said on X.

Another Pakistani military source said “70 percent electricity grid of India has been made dysfunctional” through a cyberattack, a day after Pakistan’s economic affairs ministry’s X account was hacked and a post was published on it appealing to international partners for more loans.

The attack targeted websites, including those of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, Crime Research Investigation Agency, Mahanagar Telecommunication Company Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, and the All India Naval Technical Supervisory Staff Association. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi in this regard.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors escalated this week as they both accused each other of violating airspaces by sending drones and other munitions, killing at least 48 people on both sides. The latest conflict was sparked by an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town that killed 26 tourists on April 22.

New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, Islamabad denies it and calls for a credible, international probe into the assault.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority on Saturday, Pakistani state media reported. The top body of civilian and military officials takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.

 




Security personnel cordon off a road near Nur Khan military airbase after Indian strikes in Rawalpindi on May 10, 2025. (AFP)

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.

The ongoing conflict alarmed the world powers, including China, US and the United Kingdom who all have urged restraint.

United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and urged both parties to find ways to deescalate and “offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts,” the State Department said.

The Group of Seven countries on Friday urged maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan and called on them to engage in direct dialogue. The United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott, said on X they were monitoring the developments closely.


US freezes immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan

Updated 15 January 2026
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US freezes immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan

  • Immigrant visas to be suspended from Jan 21, tourist visas unaffected
  • Move targets “public charge” concerns as Trump revives hard-line immigration rules

ISLAMABA: The United States will pause immigrant visa issuances for nationals of 75 countries, including Pakistan, from January 21, the State Department said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a hard-line immigration agenda centered on financial self-sufficiency.

In an update published on its website, the State Department said it was conducting a comprehensive review of immigration policies to ensure that migrants from what it described as “high-risk” countries do not rely on public welfare in the United States or become a “public charge.”

“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department said.

The pause applies specifically to immigrant visas, which are issued to people seeking permanent residence in the United States. The department said applicants from affected countries may still submit applications and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued during the suspension.

According to the State Department, the affected countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Thailand and dozens of others across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.

The department said tourist and other non-immigrant visas are not affected, and that no previously issued immigrant visas have been revoked. Dual nationals applying with a valid passport from a country not on the list are exempt from the pause.

The State Department did not indicate how long the visa pause would remain in effect, saying it would continue until its review of screening and vetting procedures is completed.

The announcement underscores the breadth of the Trump administration’s renewed immigration crackdown. Since returning to office last year, Trump has revived and expanded enforcement of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law, which allows authorities to deny entry to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.

During his previous term, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court and later rescinded under former president Joe Biden.

The visa freeze also comes amid an intensifying domestic enforcement push. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded operations nationwide, drawing scrutiny over its tactics. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation in Minneapolis, sparking protests and renewed debate over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.