ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s military said Thursday that it had shot down a dozen Indian drones overnight, including one that struck a military site near the eastern city of Lahore, injuring at least four soldiers and damaging infrastructure.
The announcement came a day after Indian missile strikes on Pakistani territory reportedly killed 31 civilians, including women and children, according to Pakistani officials. The strikes — which India said targeted sites linked to terrorism planning — have fueled fears of further escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistan’s army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said that air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed 12 Indian drones at various locations. One of the drones, he added, struck a military facility near Lahore, causing injuries and partial damage. He provided no additional details.
In southern Sindh Province, debris from one of the downed drones reportedly fell in a populated area, killing one civilian and injuring another, according to military officials.
The claims could not be independently verified. Indian authorities have not commented publicly on the drone incidents.
In Lahore, a police official, Mohammad Rizwan, said a drone was shot down near Walton Airport, an airfield located in a residential district about 16 miles from the Indian border that also includes military installations. Local media outlets reported that two additional drones were intercepted in other cities across Punjab Province, where Lahore is the capital.
In Chakwal District, also in Punjab, a drone crashed into farmland. No casualties were reported. Police said the wreckage had been secured and an investigation was underway to determine the drone’s origin.
India, for its part, said its missile strikes on Wednesday targeted at least nine locations inside Pakistan believed to be linked to the planning of recent attacks on Indian soil. Most of the reported casualties occurred in Punjab Province.
Tensions have surged between the two countries since April 22, when gunmen opened fire on a group of mostly Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people. India has accused Pakistan of harboring the militants responsible, a charge Islamabad has denied.
In the wake of the drone incidents and missile strikes, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed retaliation, though he offered no specifics. “We will avenge every innocent life lost,” he said in a late-night statement, raising concerns of a broader confrontation.
Across the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir, Indian officials said tens of thousands of residents had been moved to shelters. Evacuations were carried out in dozens of villages near the frontier overnight, while many others fled voluntarily from border towns such as Uri and Poonch, according to three Indian police and civil officials who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday that 13 civilians and one soldier were killed the previous day during cross-border exchanges of fire, with 59 others wounded.
