India Pakistan live updates: Explosions reported in Srinagar, drones shot down in Barmer, Jaisalmer

Pakistani shelling has begun along the border districts of Jammu and Kashmir in Uri, Kupwara and Poonch on Friday evening, as tensions between India and Pakistan continue to escalate.

Additionally, Pakistani drones were shot down in Rajasthan’s Barmer, Pokhran, Jaisalmer, and Phalodi on Friday evening. Meanwhile, in Punjab’s Firozpur region, a family was injured after a Pakistani drone struck a residential area.

The central government has also extended its previous closure of 24 airports across India till 5:29 am on May 15.

Earlier in the evening, foreign secretary Vikram Misri addressed the May 8 attacks by Pakistan on multiple locations in India, stating that the provocative actions by Pakistan were aimed at both Indian cities and civilian infrastructure, as well as military establishments.

He said that the Indian armed forces responded in a proportional, adequate, and responsible manner. Misri also criticised Pakistan’s official denial of the attacks, calling it a blatant falsehood and highlighting the duplicity of the Pakistani state, which he said was continuing to sink to new depths.

A total of 138 flights to and from Delhi airport were cancelled by several airlines on Friday amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Security has also been tightened at airports nationwide.

Additionally, nearly 27 airports across the country have been shut down in response to Operation Sindoor—a military operation launched by Indian armed forces on Wednesday targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes came as retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh held a comprehensive review of the national security scenario in a meeting with CDS General Anil Chauhan and the chiefs of the three armed forces.

The series of meetings in Delhi comes a day after Pakistan’s attempts to target Indian military installations were repelled.

Earlier today, the Indian Army said that it effectively repulsed multiple attacks, using drones and other munitions, by Pakistan along the entire western border on the intervening night of May 8 and May 9.

At least eight Pakistani missiles were intercepted at Satwari, Samba, RS Pura and Arnia in the Jammu region as India’s S400 air defence system shot down hostile missiles at multiple places along the western border.

Blackouts and sirens were activated across the Jammu region. Sirens were also heard in Akhnoor, Samba, Baramulla and Kupwara.

On Thursday, the Indian military had said it thwarted attempts by Pakistan forces to hit several military targets in 15 cities in the country’s north and west using missiles and drones, and targeted Pakistan’s air defence network at several locations in that country, with the one in Lahore being destroyed in the counter-attack.

The development came a day after India launched precision strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22. The mission was codenamed Operation Sindoor. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meeting on Thursday that at least 100 terrorists were killed in the operation.

More on India-Pak tensions

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended amid mounting security concerns following the military escalation between India and Pakistan, sources within the BCCI confirmed to Hindustan Times on Friday.

The United States has said it is not going to get involved in a war that’s “fundamentally none of our business”.
US vice president JD Vance said in a television interview that while the US cannot control India and Pakistan, it can encourage the two nuclear-armed neighbours to de-escalate.

The ministry of civil aviation has informed that 24 airports are closed for civil flight operations as of Thursday evening amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Here’s the full list.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has also issued a detailed advisory on Thursday mandating stricter security protocols at airports nationwide. Airlines have asked passengers to arrive at airports at least three hours before departure.

Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) has said that India has asked it to block 8,000 accounts on the social media platform. While it confirmed that it would comply by restricting access to the listed accounts within India, ‘X’ said that it is “not an easy decision”.

Leaves of government employees in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan were cancelled as hostilities ramped up between India and Pakistan, with several border areas, including Jammu, coming under cross-border shelling.