India and Pakistan Edge Toward Full War

India and Pakistan moved closer to all-out war early Saturday as the Pakistani military accused India of attacking at least three of its air bases, and then reported that it had retaliated by targeting Indian air bases and a missile storage site.

The alleged exchange of attacks marked a significant escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals four days into an armed conflict that began on Wednesday.

Pakistan claimed that India had attacked its sites with air-to-surface missiles. Among the bases that came under attack, Pakistan said, was a key installation near the capital, Islamabad. Witnesses in Rawalpindi, an adjacent garrison city, reported hearing at least three powerful explosions near the Noor Khan air base, with one reporting a "large fireball" visible for kilometers.

“Now, you just wait for our response,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Pakistani military’s chief spokesman, said in a televised statement. He accused India of inciting the region to a "dangerous war."

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the country’s highest decision-making authority on nuclear and missile policy issues, the military said in a statement.

“Prime Minister has called the meeting of National Command Authority,” the statement said.

India is now reacting to Pakistani strikes, according to an Indian official.

“All Pakistani attacks are being responded to appropriately by the Indian Armed Forces,” the official said.

The Pakistani military said early Friday it had begun an operation against India in retaliation against recent “Indian aggression,” saying India had launched missiles at key military bases.