8 killed, 35 injured, 2 missing after Indian missile strikes hit 6 locations in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- At least eight civilians, including a child, were killed, 35 others injured, and two reported missing early Wednesday after India fired missiles at six locations in Pakistan, including areas in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, said the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of the ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistani military, said in a video statement that India created 24 impacts at six civilian locations.

Chaudhry said that the Indian strikes destroyed four mosques and severely damaged several houses and a hospital.

The director general said that the missiles targeted locations in Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Shakargarh and Sheikhupura areas in the eastern Punjab province, as well as Muzaffarabad and Kotli districts in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

The ISPR chief said that Pakistan Air Force jets were airborne and ensured that no Indian aircraft violated Pakistani airspace, adding that the missiles were launched from within Indian airspace.

"Let me say it unequivocally: Pakistan will respond to this (attack) at a time and place of its choosing. This provocation will not go unanswered," he said.

A state of emergency was declared in hospitals across the affected areas, while Pakistan had suspended its airspace for 48 hours and closed education institutions in Punjab.

The director general said that the Pakistan Air Force and Army are responding effectively to the Indian assault.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that Pakistan has shot down five Indian fighter jets and three drones in its defense in accordance with international laws and the UN charter.

Earlier, Pakistan's foreign office strongly condemned the missile strikes by India early Wednesday at civilian locations in Pakistan, including areas in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, calling it an unprovoked and blatant act of aggression.

The foreign office said that the Indian Air Force targeted civilian areas in Pakistan using standoff weapons while remaining within Indian airspace, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including women and children.

It denounced the strikes as a "flagrant violation of the UN charter, international law, and established norms of inter-state relations," and warned that the Indian action posed a serious threat to regional stability and commercial air traffic.

"India's reckless action has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict," said the foreign office, emphasizing that Pakistan reserves the right to respond "at a time and place of its choosing."

Pakistani President Asif Zardari condemned the Indian strikes targeting civilian populations across the border and said that Pakistan would give a strong and befitting response to Indian aggression.

"Indian provocations will be met with full force and with an unwavering commitment to protect Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the president, adding that the entire Pakistani nation stands united behind its brave armed forces, who are fully prepared and capable of defending the motherland.

The country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the strikes, saying, "Pakistan has every right to respond to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given."

"The entire nation stands with our armed forces. The morale and spirit of the Pakistani people are high," the prime minister added, vowing that the enemy would never succeed in its nefarious designs.