Loud explosion heard in Lahore day after India's Operation Sindoor: Report
The explosion comes a day after India carried out strikes on nine terror camps within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
A loud explosion was heard in Pakistan's Lahore on Thursday morning, according to local broadcaster Geo TV and a Reuters witness. The explosion comes a day after India carried out strikes on nine terror camps within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It is still unclear what caused the explosion.
According to local media reports, sirens blared and residents rushed out of their homes after the explosion. The blast was heard in the Gopal Nagar and Naseerabad neighborhoods, near Walton Airport.
Flights operations at Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot airports have been temporarily suspended, but it is still unclear if the move was related to the explosion heard in Lahore.
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Operation Sindoor
On Wednesday, Indian armed forces carried out a massive operation which targetted terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Named ‘Operation Sindoor’, the attack was in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack which resulted in the death of 26 Indians, mostly Hindus.
In a statement, India said it carried out “a precise and restrained response” at terror camps. The Ministry of External Affairs stressed the operation was designed to be “non-escalatory” and that no civilian, economic, or military infrastructure was hit.
The confrontation follows the April 22 attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, where gunmen stormed a civilian area, killing 26 people - mostly men - in front of their families. India claims that Pakistan-based terrorist groups were behind the attack, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government vowed retribution. Pakistan denied any involvement.
The renewed hostilities between India and Pakistan have already impacted financial markets, with non-deliverable forwards on the Indian rupee indicating a sharp weakening. Pakistan, in a precautionary move, closed its airspace following the Indian strikes, according to Pakistan International Airlines Corp.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned India's operation as a “cowardly attack,” asserting the country’s right to respond “in a befitting manner.” “The enemy won’t be allowed to achieve its goals,” he said.
