A blast was heard in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Thursday morning, according to broadcaster Geo TV and a Reuters witness. There was no immediate word on the reason behind it.
India conducted blackout drills in regions close to its border with Pakistan, including the northern city of Amritsar, which houses the Golden Temple revered by Sikhs, in anticipation of retaliation for its strikes.
In Pakistan, most cities restored some normalcy and children returned to school, but in the border province of Punjab, hospitals and civil defence authorities remained on high alert.
While Pakistan’s government has pledged to respond to India’s strikes, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told The New York Times on Wednesday that it was ready to de-escalate.
Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.
“I want to see them stop,” US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is slated to meet his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate between the two sides.
India and Pakistan have fought multiple times since the violent end of British rule in 1947, when colonial officers drew straight-line borders on maps to partition the nations, dividing communities.
Muslim-majority Kashmir – claimed by both India and Pakistan – has been a repeated flashpoint.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-says-troops-exchanged-overnight-gunfire-pakistan-kashmir-loc-5116406
