VIDEOS: Pakistan burns in Indian strike, people flee in panic

Local residents stand outside a mosque of an Islamic seminary partially damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack, outskirts of Bahawalpur | AP

Videos from Pakistan after the Indian strike show people running around in panic as buildings burned. The videos, though not verified, come as India announced it struck nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under 'Operation Sindoor'. 

One of the footage was from Markaz-e-Tayyeba in Muridke of Punjab province. A video showed a missile landing on what seemed like a building, which erupted into a fireball. People, many of them on two-wheelers, are seen fleeing in panic as fire rages. 

Another Indian missile hit a religious centre in Bahawalpur district of Pakistan's Punjab region. This centre is reportedly tied to the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar. The madrassa situated at Ahmadpur East is located about 400 km from Lahore and hosts the group's operational base.

Pakistani authorities claim the attack left three people, including one child, dead. Pakistan immediately declared a state of emergency has now been declared in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Pakistan has also closed its airspace to commercial and other civilian air traffic for at least a period of 48 hours following India’s operation. 

According to foreign policy expert Micheal Kugelman, India’s strike on Pakistan is of much greater scale than the one in 2019. "Pakistan’s response, which according to many reports included downing several Indian jets, has also exceeded the scale of 2019. They’re already higher up the escalatory ladder than any time in ‘19 crisis," he posted on X.  

Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, lost power for a while after the explosions.

As soon as the strike was confirmed, non-Pakistani flights, both to Pakistani airports and overflights, began diverting while Pakistani airlines continued to their destinations.

Defence