Pakistan Rocked by Blasts After Operation Sindoor

Blasts Across Pakistan Spark Regional Alarm Following India’s Precision Strikes Under Operation Sindoor

 

A series of powerful explosions were reported across at least nine cities in Pakistan on Thursday morning, just a day after the Indian Armed Forces launched targeted retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor. The operation was aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the 22 April Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 civilians, primarily Hindu pilgrims, dead.

The synchronised blasts have been confirmed from key Pakistani urban and military centres — including Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Narowal, Kasur, and Bahawalnagar — indicating a broad pattern rather than isolated incidents. Rawalpindi, notably, is home to Pakistan’s General Headquarters (GHQ) and is a nerve centre of the country’s military command structure.

Indian defence sources, speaking on background, have maintained operational silence regarding Thursday’s developments, though there is a strong perception in strategic circles that these explosions may be the continuing echoes of India’s transborder campaign. While Pakistan’s military has claimed the blasts were a result of drones being intercepted and shot down, this narrative appears muddled by inconsistencies and lacks independent verification.

Visuals emerging from multiple Pakistani cities show debris that bears resemblance to Israeli-origin Harop loitering munitions — a system known to be part of India’s unmanned strike arsenal. Islamabad has accused India of violating its airspace with twelve drones, alleging that wreckage is being recovered from impact zones around major urban centres.

In what appears to be a rapidly evolving security situation, civilian airports in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Sialkot were abruptly shut down, with authorities initially announcing a noon reopening. The closure was later extended until 6 PM Pakistan Standard Time, indicating heightened alert across Pakistani airspace and concern over further incursions or attacks.

Pakistan’s official response, issued through military spokesperson Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, denounced the Indian strikes and vowed retaliatory action. He claimed five Indian aircraft were shot down in response, a statement dismissed by Indian diplomatic channels abroad as "blatantly false and disinformation."

Operation Sindoor, conducted in the early hours of Wednesday, was described by senior Indian officials as a "decisive punitive action" targeting launchpads, logistics nodes, and safe houses used by Pakistan-based terror groups operating against India. The Indian security establishment believes that the strikes have significantly degraded Pakistan’s cross-border terror machinery, though the full extent of damage is still being assessed through satellite and electronic intelligence.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours are now at their most volatile since the Balakot strikes of 2019. Indian defence analysts suggest that Thursday’s explosions may either be delayed secondary detonations from Wednesday’s strikes, or the result of Pakistan's own munitions storage and handling issues — a recurring concern given past precedents of accidental blasts in Pakistani depots.

What distinguishes the current standoff is the Indian establishment’s readiness to project decisive military strength under a newly outlined doctrine that combines covert precision with strategic unpredictability. Unlike in past crises, there has been no political equivocation in New Delhi, and no backchannel peace overtures made public so far.

India’s calibrated messaging remains clear — state-sponsored terrorism will no longer be treated as a diplomatic inconvenience but as a casus belli for proportionate military response.

As regional stakeholders urge restraint, Indian armed forces remain on high alert across the western front. Whether this episode evolves into sustained confrontation or settles into uneasy deterrence will depend significantly on Pakistan’s next move. For now, India has signalled its intent — loud, clear, and unflinching.