Pakistan put on 'red alert', PM Shehbaz to address the nation in few hours

Islamabad, May 7 (IANS) Pakistan has been put on a 'red alert', with government hospitals across the country ready for any emergency; airspace for all domestic and international flights closed for at least 24 to 36 hours; all educational institutions in capital Islamabad and the Punjab province closed; and, all forces on stand by following the late night Indian air strikes on terror hideouts in different parts of the country.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that at least 26 people have been killed and 46 others injured in the airstrikes that New Delhi said targetted terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab province.

The Indian strikes and Islamabad's retaliation has jolted locals who fear that it could potentially lead to a full-scale war between the two countries. They were conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were brutally gunned down by four militants, two of them allegedly hailing from Pakistan.

The strikes targeted six different locations inside Pakistan, including Masjid SubhanAllah - the alleged hideout of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in Ahmedpur Sharqia area of Bahawalpur city in Pakistan's South Punjab province.

Multiple strikes were also conducted in other areas, including Muridke, the alleged hideout and headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed besides other locations in Muzaffarabad, Kotli and Bagh cities.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who will address the nation on Wednesday afternoon, called an emergency National Security Committee (NSC) meeting at the Prime Minister's House to discuss the current security situation in the country, and the future course of action against India.

The crucial meeting will formulate policy and also contemplate on the interventions by global powers, including the United States, which has called on both sides to show restraint and de-escalate the fast-aggravating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

--IANS

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