Drone Warfare: The New Chapter in the India-Pakistan Conflict

BarcelonaFrom The attack launched by New Delhi's air force against Pakistan on Wednesday In retaliation for the terrorist attack against 26 Indian tourists a week earlier, the clashes between India and Pakistan continue unabated, and neither do the threats. Both armies have reported bombings and crossfire in recent days in areas beyond the disputed territory of Kashmir, but the latest phase of this escalation is being led by drones.

Since the attack on April 22 in Pahalgam —in Indian-controlled Kashmir—has broken the fragile and temporary peace between the two countries, with at least eighty people killed in violent exchanges. Most of the victims are concentrated along the Line of Control, the border that de facto divides the Kashmir region and is the scene of most of the clashes. Indian authorities have reported 49 dead, including the 26 tourists killed in the attack, and 15 civilians who have died in clashes along the border over the past two weeks. The Pakistani military, on the other hand, has reported 31 civilian deaths and 57 injuries as a result of India's airstrike early Wednesday morning.

India claimed responsibility on Friday for a drone attack on military installations in Pakistan, destroying an air defense system, in retaliation for another attack launched by Pakistan hours earlier. According to authorities in New Delhi, between 300 and 400 drones violated Indian airspace at 36 points along its western border, "with the intention of attacking military infrastructure." The Indian military maintains that it intercepted the drones, while Pakistan denies the attacks. Islamabad, on the other hand, claims to have shot down 25 Indian drones in the past few hours.

Almost all of the military action has been concentrated in the disputed region of Kashmir, where there have been numerous artillery exchanges and a trickle of evacuations. It's true that this region, disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947, has seen episodes of violence on other occasions, but what elevates these clashes is the use of other types of weapons, such as drones and tactical missiles. And this, according to some experts, opens a new chapter in the conflict between India and Pakistan. According to US Naval College professor Jahara Matisek on the BBC, the side that masters drone warfare will be able to "shape" the battlefield.

One of the hardest-hit areas is the city of Jammu, where, according to witnesses speaking to Reuters, multiple explosions occurred and several projectiles landed for the second consecutive night after a power outage. The chief minister of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, reported via X that the city of Jammu was completely dark, with air raid sirens wailing: "From where I am, intermittent sounds of explosions, probably from heavy artillery, can be heard." He asked residents not to go out into the streets.

Preparing for escalation

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Shaqfat Ali Khan lamented Friday that India's "reckless behavior" has brought the two nuclear-capable states closer to the brink of "further conflict." "This bellicose behavior poses a grave threat not only to bilateral relations but also to regional and global security as a whole," said Ali Khan.

The feeling that both countries are heading for an escalation It has reached such a point that the Indian cricket league announced it was suspending matches for a week, and Pakistan's league said it was moving to the United Arab Emirates due to the alleged threat of conflict. Meanwhile, this Friday, New Delhi authorized the army to activate ten voluntary reserve battalions to support the Armed Forces' military operations.