Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned Friday that Islamabad may have no choice but to enter a “full-blown war” with India, amid a rapid escalation in hostilities that has involved missile strikes, drone incursions, and mutual allegations of targeting civilians.
“We don’t have any other options other than this … we have to pay them back in the same coin,” Asif said in an interview with a Pakistani news channel on May 10. When asked if war was imminent, he replied, “Absolutely, there shouldn’t be any doubt on this.”
The statement came two days after India launched Operation Sindoor, a coordinated air operation on May 8 targeting what Indian officials described as nine terrorist infrastructure sites inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The operation was carried out in retaliation for an April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack.
In the two days following the Indian airstrikes, Indian authorities reported waves of Pakistani drone incursions across its northern border regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. India claimed more than 400 drones were launched between Thursday evening and Friday morning, many of which were intercepted.
According to Indian officials, some of the drones targeted religious and civilian sites. “The targeting of temples, gurdwaras, convents is a new low by Pakistan,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a May 10 press briefing.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar rejected the accusation, calling it “baseless and misleading.” However, a Pakistani security official told local media that Thursday night’s drone strikes were “just to heat things up,” indicating a planned escalation.
Blasts were reported Friday night in Amritsar, Jammu, and Srinagar in India, as well as in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Pakistan. Witnesses in Jammu and Kashmir described seeing drone interceptions by Indian air defenses and hearing repeated air raid sirens. India’s military confirmed drone sightings in 26 locations across its western and northwestern regions.
Pakistan-administered Kashmir officials reported five civilian deaths and 29 injuries from Indian artillery shelling early Friday. Separately, Indian officials stated that an armed drone had injured a family in Ferozepur, Punjab.
At a press conference, Pakistan military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the country had no plans to reduce its military posture. “We will not de-escalate — with the damages India did on our side, they should take a hit,” Chaudhry said. “They will get an answer in our own timing.”
The intensifying conflict has caused widespread panic and disruption. Border residents in both countries are being urged to evacuate. Schools and businesses in Rajasthan and Gujarat have shut down.
