Tensions escalate as Pakistan vows response to Indian strikes

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 1619 EAT on Wednesday 7 May 2025

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has told the parliament that his country’s forces shot down five Indian aircraft, according to reports in Pakistani media.

He says two of them came down in Kashmir and one in India’s Bathinda.

Sharif’s comments echo earlier cliams from military India hasn’t commented on this claim.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that current tensions between India and Pakistan are a serious concern.

The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Lammy said the UK had a close and unique relationship with both countries.

I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins,” he said.

The UK was clear in its condemnation of the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month. We need all sides to work urgently to see regional stability restored and ensure protection of civilians,” he added.

Lammy also said that the safety of British nationals in the region was our priority adding that the UK foreign office was monitoring developments closely.

Nearly 550 scheduled flights have been cancelled in India and Pakistan since the air strikes.

Sixteen per cent of all scheduled commercial flights in Pakistan and 3% in India have been cancelled since the air strikes, according to data from real-time flight tracking service Flightradar24.

In Pakistan, 135 flights have been cancelled while 417 scheduled flights have been cancelled in India, according to the tracker.

The Indian army has said that artillery firing by Pakistan has led to the deaths of 15 civilians and injured 43 since Tuesday night.

It said that the shelling hit civilian areas in Poonch and Tangdar in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has held a meeting with chief ministers, chief secretaries and top police officials of border states.

Chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, West Bengal and the lieutenant governors of federally-administered Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir attended the meeting.

The details of the meeting have not been made public, but it came hours after tensions escalated between Delhi and Islamabad following a series of air strikes by India on its neighbouring country.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has called on Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint after India launched air strikes against Pakistan.

Islamabad has called the strikes a cowardly attack and has said it will respond to them at a time and place of its choosing.

Russia’s foreign ministry has said in a statement that it is deeply concerned about the deepening military confrontation” between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has briefed Jiang Zaidong, China’s ambassador to the country, about India’s strikes.

Dar’s office said in a statement that the minister briefed the ambassador on the serious situation following India’s unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and the tragic loss of innocent lives.

Pakistan said it had rejected India’s claims of terrorist camps on its soil, reiterating that the allegations were baseless.

It would also be recalled that immediately after 22 April 2025, Pakistan made a sincere offer for a credible, transparent and neutral investigation, which unfortunately was not accepted,” the statement said.

It added that international media visited the alleged terrorist camps on 6 May and more visits had been scheduled for today.

However, without providing a shred of evidence about its claims, India had gone ahead and attacked innocent civilians in order to satiate its short-sighted political objectives, the statement said.

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