India has targeted Sheikh Zayed International Airport in the Punjab province of the Rahim Yar Khan district – an installation widely considered as a symbol of Pakistani -Uae friendship.
According to security officials, the attack caused structural damage to the airport, which was built in 1993 and appointed according to the deceased president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The strike sparked immediate conviction, with observers warning that targeting a site associated with a close ally like water could have larger regional implications.
The airport plays a key role in the aeronautical infrastructure of Pakistan and has a diplomatic meaning because of its link with the Gulf State.
In a separate incident, Indian forces have tried to target Nankana Sahib, a sacred city for the Sikh community and which houses the birthplace of Guru Nanak.
The Pakistani authorities qualified the strike attempt as reckless and provocative, accusing India of acting as “war hysteria”.
Attacks are involved in the midst of ongoing military operations between the two nuclear weapons neighbors.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan Al-Marsus, a reprisal campaign for Indian military installations that would have been involved in targeting Pakistani civilians.
Pakistan maintains that its response is focused solely on military assets and designed to prevent new civilian victims.
The government has urged the international community to take note of what it calls the repeated violations of India international standards and its attempts to destabilize the region.
Tensions continue to increase, the two sides remaining on high alert.
Diplomatic observers fear that the conflict can develop if it is not urgently defused.
Tensions between India and Pakistan increased sharply following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, located in Jammu-et-Cachemire illegally Indian (Iiojk), which left 26 dead.
India blamed the elements of Pakistan for the attack without presenting evidence. Islamabad categorically rejected the accusations.
In response, India closed the land border of Wagah, revoked the Pakistani visas and announced the suspension of the Industry Water Treaty on April 23.
Pakistan labeled any disturbance of the treaty as an “act of war” and subsequently selected Wagah’s crossing on the side.
The situation has also deteriorated on May 6 and 7, the explosions reported in several Pakistani cities, including Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Muridke and Bahawalpur.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, confirmed that Indian air strikes have targeted several locations.
Pakistan responded with air and land operations as part of a new military campaign called Bunyan-Un-Marsoos.
