India went to sleep late on the intervening night of May 8 and 9 – those that could go to sleep, that is, as the country’s armed forces undertook their biggest task since the 1971 war, repelling Pakistani missile, drone and fighter jet strikes all across the north-western border from Kashmir, Punjab to Rajasthan, and giving back better than they got.

Vast areas across the north and northwest were plunged in the darkness of blackouts. Explosions were reported from Jaisalmer. Sirens and blasts from Jammu.

The IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala Thursday evening called off as air raid alerts sounded in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town. Punjab Kings were 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out. It was at first attributed to floodlight failure. Later, the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.

Airports across the country have been put on high alert, 24 have been shut down, including Chandigarh and Leh and passengers have been told to check with their airlines and be at airports at least three hours before their flight.

At the time of writing this report at around 1.40am Friday, India time, multiple TV channels are reporting that the Indian Navy has begun operations in the Arabian Sea. There are unconfirmed reports of a Pakistani jet being shot down near Pathankot.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and emphasised the need for de-escalation.

The escalation began after India on Thursday night foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key installations.

"Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the International border in Jammu and Kashmir," a defence ministry spokesperson said.

"The threats were swiftly neutralised using kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities in line with established standard operating procedures," he said, adding no casualties or material losses were reported.

Earlier, in the afternoon, the defence ministry said Indian armed forces targeted air defence systems at several locations in Pakistan in response to Pakistani strikes on military targets at 15 sites in India overnight.

It said the military foiled Pakistan's attempts to target military installations in the cities in the northern and western parts of the country using missiles and drones.

Sources in the defence and security establishment said the S-400 missile defence systems, surface-to-air missiles and the integrated counter unmanned aircraft system were used in thwarting the Pakistani attempts.

India launched kamikaze drones and destroyed a Pakistani air defence system in Lahore in its response Thursday morning, .

The ministry said the Pakistani military attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj on Wednesday night.

The Indian armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan and "neutralised" an air defence system in Lahore, it said.

The Pakistani attempt came after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan on early Wednesday under Operation Sindoor.