Just a day after Indian strikes on alleged terrorist infrastructure, Pakistan was hit by multiple explosions in cities like Lahore and Rawalpindi. The cause of the blasts is unknown, but they have significantly heightened fears of retaliation and further escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, leading to airport closures and international calls for restraint.
BY PC Bureau
May 8, 2025 – A series of powerful explosions reverberated across multiple cities in Pakistan on Thursday, including the major urban center of Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi sending shockwaves through the nation and escalating fears of a wider conflict with neighboring India.
The blasts, reported in areas near Lahore’s Walton Airport such as Walton, Gopal Nagar, and Naseerabad, occurred just a day after India conducted a military operation, codenamed “Operation Sindoor,” targeting alleged terrorist infrastructure within Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
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Sources indicate that at least nine cities across Pakistan have been impacted by the blasts.
The cause of the explosions remains unknown at this time. However, the incidents have significantly heightened concerns about a further and potentially dangerous escalation in the already strained relationship between India and Pakistan.
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The unfolding events have triggered widespread panic among the civilian population, led to the disruption of air travel, and prompted a robust military response as Pakistan grapples with the immediate fallout of intensifying cross-border tensions.
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Blasts Rock Lahore and Spread Nationwide
In Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city and the capital of Punjab province, residents were abruptly awakened on Thursday morning by a series of loud detonations. Local media and eyewitness accounts suggest at least three consecutive blasts in the upscale Gulberg area, particularly along Walton Road, with additional explosions reported in the neighboring areas of Gopal Nagar and Naseerabad. The proximity of these blasts to the vital Walton Airport has amplified security concerns, with unverified social media reports speculating about potential drone or missile strikes. Witnesses reported seeing thick plumes of smoke rising into the sky, and the sound of the explosions was reportedly audible up to five kilometers away, according to India’s Zee News.
Social media platforms were quickly flooded with images and videos capturing the ensuing chaos, showing panicked residents fleeing their homes and gathering in the streets. One user on X reported, “Explosions, sirens in #Lahore… People ran out of their houses in panic and reported seeing clouds of smoke.” Another post claimed, “Multiple blasts near Walton area of Lahore have triggered panic, with the airport shut and flights diverted to Islamabad.” While local sources have speculated about a possible missile attack, Pakistani authorities have yet to issue any official confirmation substantiating these claims.
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🇵🇰🇮🇳 𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 reported in #𝐁𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐮𝐫, #𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧.
𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 on site. pic.twitter.com/Ag6szKN9Zc— RK Gupta (EarnWithRK) (@earnwithrk) May 6, 2025
Beyond Lahore, initial reports suggest that other cities, including the major port city of Karachi, may have also been targeted, although concrete details remain scarce. The Pakistani military has confirmed that its forces shot down 12 Indian drones, identified as Israeli Harop models, for allegedly violating Pakistani airspace. Debris from these drones was reportedly collected from locations including Lahore and Karachi. This development followed India’s strikes on May 7, which targeted multiple sites within Pakistan, including a mosque-seminary in Muzaffarabad and a complex near Lahore in Muridke, both previously linked to militant organizations.
Context: “Operation Sindoor” and Mounting Tensions
These blasts occur in the immediate aftermath of India’s “Operation Sindoor,” launched on May 7, 2025. India stated that this operation was a response to a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India-administered Kashmir, on April 22, which resulted in the deaths of 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese citizen. The Indian military claimed to have struck nine sites of “terrorist infrastructure” within Pakistan, including the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and five targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, vehemently condemned the Indian strikes, asserting that they targeted civilian infrastructure, including mosques, and reported at least 31 civilian fatalities and 46 injuries.
Following the Indian operation, Pakistan’s military vowed retaliation, with its National Security Committee authorizing “corresponding actions” against India. The downing of the 12 Indian drones on May 8 was cited as part of Pakistan’s response. However, the subsequent widespread blasts in Lahore and other areas have raised serious questions about whether these were additional Indian strikes, retaliatory actions by Pakistan, or potentially unrelated incidents. The absence of an official statement from Pakistani authorities regarding the cause of the explosions is fueling widespread speculation and fear.
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Immediate Fallout: Panic, Airport Closures, and Military Mobilization
The explosions in Lahore triggered immediate chaos. Emergency sirens wailed across the city as rescue and fire brigade vehicles rushed to the affected areas. The Pakistan Army has deployed significant forces, cordoning off blast sites and restricting access as bomb disposal and intelligence teams have commenced investigations. Unverified reports on X even claimed that the army had taken control of a naval college in Lahore following reports of additional blasts in the vicinity.
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In response to the escalating situation, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced the temporary suspension of flight operations at Lahore, Sialkot, and Karachi airports, with closures initially in effect until at least noon on Thursday. Major international airlines, including Etihad and Qatar Airways, have reportedly canceled flights to Pakistan, citing airspace restrictions. India’s IndiGo also reported disruptions to flights in border-adjacent cities like Jammu and Amritsar.
Pakistan News: Multiple Blast Rocks Lahore; Loud Explosion, Sirens Heard On Walton Road#DNAVideos | #PakistanNews | #Lahore | #IndiaPakistanNews | #India | #Pakistan | #IndianArmy | #PakistanArmy
For more videos, click here https://t.co/6ddeGFqM3o pic.twitter.com/Hc9eZy40Ja
— DNA (@dna) May 8, 2025
Reflecting growing international concern over the escalating conflict, the U.S. Embassy in India issued a travel advisory urging its citizens to avoid the region of Jammu and Kashmir. International actors, including China, Russia, Turkey, and the UK, have called for restraint from both sides. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a stark warning, stating, “If this escalates further, nobody wins.”
Broader Implications for the Region
The blasts in Lahore and other Pakistani cities represent a dangerous escalation in the already fragile relationship between India and Pakistan, a relationship historically strained by decades of conflict over Kashmir and cross-border terrorism. The events of May 8 follow a worrying pattern of tit-for-tat actions, drawing parallels with India’s 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, both of which were met with Pakistani retaliation. Pakistan’s already vulnerable economy, recently stabilized by a $7 billion IMF loan, now faces the prospect of further strain as the conflict threatens to disrupt trade, travel, and investor confidence.
The reported involvement of drones and unconfirmed allegations of missile strikes underscore the increasing role of advanced weaponry in the India-Pakistan conflict, significantly raising the stakes for both nuclear-armed nations. While India maintains that its actions are solely targeting terrorist infrastructure, Pakistan’s claims of civilian casualties and attacks on religious sites have ignited domestic outrage and could potentially fuel further unrest within the country.
Unanswered Questions Fuel Uncertainty
As the situation unfolds, the precise cause of the May 8 blasts remains a critical unanswered question. Were they a direct result of further Indian strikes, as some Pakistani media outlets have suggested? Could they be linked to internal militant groups, such as the Baloch Liberation Army, which has recently claimed responsibility for attacks in Balochistan? Or could they be attributed to misfired defenses or other technical failures? The lack of official clarity from Pakistani authorities has created a vacuum of information, allowing speculation to proliferate, particularly on social media platforms where unverified claims of drone and missile attacks continue to circulate.
The multiple blasts that rocked Lahore and other Pakistani cities on May 8, 2025, have plunged the nation into a state of fear and uncertainty, pushing tensions with India to a level unseen in recent decades. As emergency services respond to the immediate aftermath, the military mobilizes, and airports remain closed, the human and geopolitical toll of this escalating crisis continues to mount. With both nuclear-armed nations seemingly on the brink of further escalation, the international community is watching with bated breath, urgently calling for de-escalation in a region where the consequences of a full-blown conflict could be catastrophic.
