3 killed, 4 injured in Indian drone attacks, claims Pakistan Army

Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Thursday said three people were killed and eight others, including four soldiers, were injured in drone attacks and claimed that armed forces shot down several UAVs launched by India, as tension continued between the neighbours.

In New Delhi, Indian military officials said the Indian armed forces foiled attempts by the Pakistani military to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India last night and destroyed a Pakistani air defence system in Lahore.

Addressing a press conference with Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar accused India of attacking Pakistan with several drones.

He said Pakistan has so far limited its response. However, he warned that Pakistan keeps its right to respond.

Lt Gen Chaudhry claimed that drones were neutralised in Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Miano, Karachi, Chhor, Rawalpindi, and Attock.

He claimed that 29 Israeli-made Harop drones were neutralised by the Pakistani Army's soft kill (technical) and hard kill (weapons).

"Three civilians were killed and eight others, including four army personnel, injured in these drone attacks,” he said.

Dar claimed that one drone targeted the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

An official told PTI that at least four drones hit the Lahore cantonment area.

The armed forces opened fire and played a siren, causing panic among the residents of Lahore's border areas and Defence House Authority, the official added.

"No drone has crashed in Islamabad,” Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon said in a post on X.

The US Consulate in Lahore on Thursday issued a security alert, directing all consulate personnel to shelter-in-place due to reports of drone explosions and possible airspace incursions in and near Lahore.

"US citizens who find themselves in an area of active conflict should leave if they can do so safely.  If it is not safe to leave, they should shelter-in-place," it said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government announced the closure of all educational institutions across the province till Sunday. The Maryam Nawaz government has also declared an emergency in all hospitals of the province, allocating 50 per cent of the total beds to meet any emergency in the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan.

The authorities in Punjab have been directed to ensure availability of sufficient blood bags, along with an updated list of donors, adequate supplies of medicines, IV fluids, vaccines, surgical/disposables/medical devices and gases.

Flight operations at Karachi Airport will remain suspended till midnight tonight due to operational reasons, the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a statement.

Addressing the National Assembly earlier, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar warned that Pakistan would respond in a "befitting manner" to the recent attacks.

Tarar said the drones shot down by the armed forces were “war trophy”, which will “be kept in museums”.

Ties between India and Pakistan plummeted following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’ in a strong response to the terror attack in Pahalgam.