Latest news from subcontinent crisis | Pakistan's Operation Bunyan Marsoos against India

Pars Today- As military tensions between the two nuclear neighbors in the subcontinent increase, many countries have expressed concern about the situation and called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid tension.

According to Pars Today, AFP reported a few hours ago that China has "strongly" urged India and Pakistan to refrain from escalating conflicts.

As tensions between India and Pakistan escalated, Islamabad closed its airspace until Sunday afternoon.

According to Al Jazeera, Pakistan's airspace was closed after the country's army announced that India had carried out a series of attacks on its airbases.

The statement released by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) reads: Pakistan’s airspace will remain closed to all types of flights until 12:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT).

Pakistan says that the ball is in India's court regarding de-escalation.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday that if India stops military actions, Pakistan will consider peace.

Meanwhile, Indian media have reported massive explosions in the city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, saying that a "missile-like object" landed deep in Dal Lake, a prominent tourist attraction in the region.

Reuters also quoted police in Indian-administered Kashmir as stating that five people were killed on Saturday morning in Pakistani attacks on the Jammu area of India.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's state television (PTV) claimed that India's power grid has been affected by a cyberattack carried out as part of Operation Bunyan Marsoos.

Prior to that, Al Jazeera reported "heavy clashes" in the city of Sialkot, Pakistan. Residents of the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi also reported hearing the sound of explosions near densely populated areas in the past few hours.

According to Al Jazeera, the Pakistani army has reported that it has shot down at least 77 drones in the past 48 hours.

Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst, told Al Jazeera a little earlier regarding the overnight and early morning clashes between India and Pakistan: They haven't officially declared war, but they are practically at war. Hostilities have been increasing, and we see that after India's new attacks on Pakistan, the latter responded almost immediately.

According to a Saturday morning report from The Guardian, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has convened an important meeting with National Command Authority officials amidst escalating clashes with India. This authority is the main decision-making body regarding the control, command, and operation of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Usually, this body only meets in wartime to discuss nuclear issues.

Meanwhile, Umar Mehraj, a journalist reporting from Srinagar, told Al Jazeera that at approximately 5:45 AM local time (23:45 GMT), residents of Indian-administered Kashmir heard a massive explosion near the Line of Control (LoC).

According to a Saturday morning report from The Guardian, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the country has all options available.

Based on Al Jazeera's announcement, the G7 has warned that the escalation of military tensions between India and Pakistan is a "serious threat" to regional stability.

The Indian army announced early Saturday morning that the country has begun a large-scale mobilization of additional forces at the border.

According to The Guardian, amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian Ministry of Defense also announced on Friday, the activation of 14 battalions out of the Indian Army's 32 infantry battalions for deployment across the country by February 2028.

AE/UR