India and Pakistan blame each other for escalating military tensions

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 2119 EAT on Thursday 8 May 2025

Pakistan’s allies have advised the country to demonstrate restraint, the minister said.

He added that his country was restraining itself but had reached a point where there’s no breakthrough.

Asif said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken to the prime minister of Pakistan, and perhaps that conversation could offer some hope, but he believes there has been no let-up from India and Pakistan has to react.

Spokesperson Tammy Brice says Rubio emphasised the need for immediate de-escalation and encouraged efforts to improve direct communication between India and Pakistan.

Rubio also reiterated his condolences for the deadly Pahalgam attack last month, and reaffirmed the US’s commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism.

An Indian Premier League (IPL) match that was under way in Dharamshala in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh has been called off.

The match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was stopped by cricket officials after just 10 overs of play.

India’s cricket board said in a statement that the match had been stopped due to a “significant technical failure”, ESPN news website reported.

Due to a power outage in the area, one of the light towers at the HPCA stadium malfunctioned. BCCI regrets the inconvenience caused to the in-stadium attendees,” the statement said.

Sportstar’s X account showed videos of spectators being evacuated from the stadium.

The news comes amid reports of fresh explosions in neighbouring Indian-administered Kashmir.

In a statement on X, the military says there have been no losses reported and that the threat has been neutralised.

Pakistan’s defence minister has denied the country is responsible for any attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Officials in Islamabad have claimed that Pakistani forces shot down five Indian fighter jets on Wednesday morning. India has so far declined to comment.

The ongoing India-Pakistan crisis has taken a dangerous turn. Both nations have for the first time carried out mass drone attacks, including on military installations.

Pakistan said it had shot down 25 Indian drones, some far from the disputed Kashmir region.

India said it had neutralised Pakistani attack drones and also claimed it had destroyed an air defence system in Lahore (Islamabad has denied this).

The fact that the Indian drones have managed to reach the highly protected garrison city of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi has come as a surprise for many in Pakistan.

Probably, using the drones may be less expensive than using exorbitantly priced state of the art fighter jets. If the drone warfare continues, then it’s likely to cause further disruptions and anger on both sides.

World nations have urged calm. The initial thinking was that after India launched missile attacks and with Pakistan claiming to have shot down several Indian jets.

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