Balakot 2.0? Twitter abuzz after reports of air activity over Karachi

Ever since the Indian Air Force flew across the border to strike targets near the town of Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reports of late-night air activity along the border and in peripheral areas have attracted attention.

Late on Tuesday night, similar reports emerged from Pakistani social media handles on Twitter, as netizens sighted Pakistan Air Force jets above Karachi even as the city went under blackout—with some fearing another Indian Air Force strike on Pakistani soil.

However, there has been no official statement from either India or Pakistan confirming air activity.

Numerous social media handles posted after sighting fighter jets above Karachi.

“Extraordinary air activity on #Pak_India border has been observed. #Pakistan security forces are alert,” tweeted Islamabad-based journalist Tariq Mahmood Malik.

The reports came late past midnight. Incidentally, the Line of Control witnessed cross-border firing on Wednesday morning. Later, Indian security forces had their third encounter in four days, with five terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.

“According to the local residents of #Karachi, the city has been blacked out completely while #PAF jets are in the skies under CAP missions of #PakistanAirForce. I think Indian Air force is planning a mischief near Karachi,” posted Abdul Rehman Tiwana.

“Update on #Karachi situation: The blackout has ended. #PakistanAirForce again showed preparedness by running CAP missions to warn enemy. Stay home & stay safe, Dear #IndianAirforce!”

However, there were no confirmed reports of activity by the IAF. Trolls from either side of the border took the opportunity to mock each other, reminiscent of the social media that broke out after the original Balakot strike.

The 2019 Balakot strike was followed by a PAF counter-strike the next day. A group of fighters including F-16s, JF-17s and Mirage-5s crossed the LoC towards the Noushera, Bimbargali and Krishna Ghat sectors of Rajouri and Poonch. The IAF scrambled a combat air patrol from a base near Srinagar, which chased the PAF fighters as they left India. In the resulting engagement, one IAF Mig-21 piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan was shot down, but not before he fired off his own missile.

While the IAF claimed to have taken down a Pakistani F-16 in the engagement, Pakistan has denied this. The IAF had presented radar images to show that a PAF fighter went missing during the engagement, adding that though there was further credible info and evidence clearly indicating that PAF has lost an F-16, this could not be released "due to security and confidentiality concerns".