NUCLEAR war could break out “at any time” if India continues strikes, Pakistan’s defense chief has warned as his country teeters on the brink of a conflict with India.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif gave the stark warning in an interview with Pakistani TV channel Geo News as tensions between the two nuclear powers continue to reach boiling point.
The minister said: “If they [India] impose an all-out war on the region and if such dangers arise in which there is a standoff, then at any time a nuclear war can break out.”
He added: “If they aggravate this then if a chance of war arises in which there is a sign of nuclear option being used on both sides, then the responsibility for that will be on India.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister earlier blamed India for igniting an “inferno” in the region after bombing his country overnight and has now authorized his troops to fire missiles back.
Nuclear war in the region is feared to kill as many as 125 million people – and the world has called on both sides to step back from the brink.
New Delhi, meanwhile, has said it is prepared to retaliate against Pakistan if it does return fire.
Speaking to Pakistan’s parliament in Islamabad today, PM Shehbaz Sharif said: “the responsibility for ensuing consequences shall lie squarely with India.”
He said: “The nation stands galvanized and resolute in the face of any further aggression.”
Fears of all-out war are growing as Islamabad says India’s missile strikes deliberately targeted civilians – killing innocent men, women and children – in what it branded a “cowardly and unlawful act of war”.
Sharif said the armed forces are now “authorized to undertake corresponding actions”, vowing to respond “at a time, place, and manner of its choosing”.
India insists it only hit terror infrastructure in a planned operation, striking nine sites used by militants – and denies targeting civilians or military facilities.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK is encouraging dialogue, de-escalation and the protection of civilians.
His foreign secretary David Lammy said: “I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins.”
Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian warplanes in response to the blitz.
Heavy gunfire also broke out along the volatile Line of Control in Kashmir.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister branded the strikes an “act of war” – vowing a forceful response.
India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has said India has no intent to escalate tensions but is prepared to “retaliate resolutely” if Pakistan does so.
The Indian armed forces said they had launched “Operation Sindoor” at infrastructure where “terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed”.
The strikes reportedly killed family members and close associates of the leader of Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, Masood Azhar.
According to The Times of India, Azhar’s elder sister, her husband, a nephew and his wife were killed in Bahawalpur.
New Delhi also claims 70 terrorists were killed across nine terror camps, local outlet NDTV reports.
Pakistan said missiles struck nine sites across three locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s eastern Punjab province just after midnight.
The military said that that at least eight people had been killed, including a child at a mosque in Bahawalpur, and at least 35 more wounded.
India’s Ministry of Defense said the strikes were in retaliation to a “barbaric” mass shooting in Kashmir last month, when 26 people were killed by gunmen.
India blames Pakistan for the shooting – but the latter denies any involvement.
Dramatic pictures from both sides of the border today show tanks on the move, soldiers on high alert and scenes of destruction as fears of full-scale war mount.
In Pakistan, tanks were spotted being transported through Muridke near Lahore, while army troops stood guard at a damaged mosque near Muzaffarabad.
Across the border, Indian paramilitary forces cordoned off the site of a mysterious aircraft crash near Srinagar in Kashmir.
Images also show security forces patrolling streets as women and children passed by, while wreckage from one of the downed jets was cleared by bulldozer in Jammu and Kashmir.
India accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire agreement, saying it has responded with “focused, measured and non-escalatory” action.
The Indian Army said: “Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing Artillery in Bhimber Gali in Poonch- Rajauri area,” in a post on X.
Following the strikes, Pakistan’s Prime Minster, Shehbaz Sharif, said: “Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given.”
The military vowed to respond “at a time of [its] choosing” and slammed the attack as a “cowardly assault under the cover of night”.
President Donald Trump said he hopes the fighting between the two nations “ends very quickly”, and the US State Department said it was “closely monitoring developments”.
The Foreign Office has warned Brits against travelling to parts of the two countries near the contested Kashmir region amid the escalating tensions.
Power was blacked out in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, according to witnesses.
Pakistan has closed its airspace for 48 hours and airlines diverted flights bound for the country.
Witnesses and one police officer at two sites on the frontier in Indian Kashmir said they heard loud explosions and intense artillery shelling as well as jets in the air.
Pakistan claimed to have shot down two Indian jets in Bahawalpur, according to state broadcaster PTV News.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “very concerned” by the strikes, according to his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
British MP Stella Creasy said: “The world cannot stand by as this conflict escalates… Restraint by all concerned must be sought and secured.”
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals hit boiling point after 26 tourists were shot dead when gunmen opened fire at a beauty spot.
Pakistan’s defense minister previously warned that a row over the mass shooting in Kashmir could lead to an “all-out war” with India.
Khawaja Asif said his country would “respond in kind” to any attack by New Delhi and said the world should be “worried” about the prospect of a full-scale conflict.
He told Sky News: “We will measure our response to whatever is initiated by India. It would be a measured response”.
“If there is an all-out attack or something like that, then obviously there will be an all-out war.”
Asked whether the international community should be concerned, he replied: “Yes, I think so. The clash between two nuclear powers is always worrisome…
“If things get wrong, there could be a tragic outcome of this confrontation.”
But he also added: “I hope there is some reconciliation and some negotiation… some efforts to resolve this issue peacefully.”
India and Pakistan have cancelled visas for each other’s citizens as tensions flare up following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir.
The two South Asian nuclear powers have exchanged tit-for-tat measures after the horrific assault in which gunmen killed 26 people.
Most of the victims were Indian tourists visiting the mountainous region – which both counties claim and each partially controls.
India blamed Pakistan for April’s attack in Pahalgam and has downgraded diplomatic ties with its neighbor.
New Delhi also suspended a water-sharing treaty and closed a border crossing.
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