Tensions between India and Pakistan have reached a new peak following massive drone attacks and mutual accusations of military aggression. The Pakistani army said its air defence systems shot down 8 Indian drones targeting major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi on the morning of May 2025, 25. Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the attacks were “yet another act of military aggression by India”. India, for its part, claims its forces “neutralised” Pakistani drones and missiles aimed at military installations in the country’s northern and western regions. The conflict, fuelled by long-standing territorial disputes, threatens to escalate into a full-scale standoff between the two nuclear-armed powers.

The drone attacks followed Indian airstrikes on May 7 that New Delhi said targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Islamabad-controlled Kashmir. The strikes, dubbed Operation Sindoor, killed 31 people, including civilians, Reuters reported, prompting sharp condemnation from Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called India’s actions an “act of war” and vowed retaliation. India, for its part, has linked the escalation to an April 22 attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that killed 26 people, accusing Pakistan of supporting militants, something Islamabad vehemently denies.

According to Al Jazeera, the drones shot down over Pakistan included Israeli Harop loitering munitions, which are capable of carrying out precision strikes. One of the drones damaged a military facility in Lahore, wounding four soldiers, while in Sindh province, debris from a crashed drone killed one civilian and wounded another. Pakistani aircraft used Chinese J-10C fighters to intercept the drones, which, according to RBC, highlights Beijing’s growing influence in the region. In response, India said its forces destroyed an air defense system in Lahore, although Pakistan denies this, calling the damage “minor.” The Indian Defense Ministry said Pakistani drones and missiles were intercepted over Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur, with no Indian casualties.