09-05-2025
Fog of war thickens as India and Pakistan trade blame and accusations
NEW DELHI — As India and Pakistan entered their third day of hostilities, the two nuclear-armed nations remained on the brink of a head-on military confrontation — but how close was difficult to tell, the fog of war made even murkier by tit-for-tat accusations of strikes and false-flag attacks.
As of Friday, New Delhi still had not commented on Islamabad's claims to have downed up to five Indian warplanes in response to Indian strikes deep inside Pakistan on Wednesday — a loss that, if true, would constitute a humiliation of the Indian military, analysts said. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, officials remained tight-lipped about their next actions and whether they would seek retaliation for India's strikes Wednesday, which Islamabad said killed 26 people.
