Pakistan’s Prime Minister had branded a missile attack by India tonight on the disputed Kashmir region an “act of war” Pakistan has vowed to retaliate after the strikes, which were launched at nine sites, according to the Indian government.
PM Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said: “The deceitful enemy has carried out cowardly attacks at five locations in Pakistan. Pakistan has every right to give a full and strong response to this act of war imposed by India – and a full response is being given. The entire nation stands with the Armed Forces of Pakistan, and the morale and spirit of the Pakistani people are high.
“The Pakistani nation and the Armed Forces of Pakistan know well how to deal with the enemy. We will never allow the enemy to succeed in its nefarious objectives.”
The missiles early struck locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country’s eastern Punjab province, according to three Pakistani security officials. One of them struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed, and a woman and man were injured, one official said. India’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that at least nine sites were targeted “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.”
President Trump said it was a “shame” when asked about the emerging news during a White House press conference, he added: “We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval… I guess people knew something was going to happen, based on a little bit of the past, they’ve been fighting for a long time… I just hope it ends very quickly.”
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