Drone Hits Rawalpindi Stadium Hours Before PSL Match Amid Rising India-Pakistan Tensions
A drone struck the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium just hours before a scheduled Pakistan Super League (PSL) match, sources said Thursday, escalating tensions following recent cross-border hostilities.
A drone hit the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium ahead of Thursday night’s Pakistan Super League match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, sources confirmed. The attack, which occurred hours before the 8 PM match, raised serious security concerns and disrupted pre-match arrangements.
This incident comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor—a large-scale Indian military strike on terror camps across the border in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
Earlier on Thursday, Indian forces launched retaliatory drone strikes on Pakistan’s air defence systems after Islamabad attempted to target 15 military sites within India. The Indian Army stated that the response was “in the same domain with same intensity” as Pakistan’s actions.
Sources said that Israeli-made HAROP drones were used to destroy China-developed HQ-9 missile defence units in key Pakistani cities, including Lahore, effectively neutralising Pakistan’s aerial defence in the region.
According to a statement by Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, drones were detected and neutralised across multiple regions, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, and Karachi. However, the confirmed strike on the Rawalpindi stadium has not yet been publicly addressed by Pakistani authorities.
The stadium attack has raised alarms given its proximity to an international sporting event, underscoring the widening scope of conflict.
While no casualties were reported at the Rawalpindi stadium, Pakistani officials claimed that four soldiers were injured in Lahore, and one civilian was killed in Miano, Sindh.
India maintains that its operations under Operation Sindoor targeted only terrorist infrastructure and avoided civilian harm. The Indian strikes have reportedly killed 100 terrorists at nine sites linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The situation has intensified since India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 Indian nationals. The precision strikes by Indian Army and Air Force targeted terror training camps and logistic hubs used by Pakistan-based groups.
Following this, Pakistan retaliated with increased artillery shelling along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, affecting areas such as Kupwara, Poonch, and Rajouri.
Security agencies in both countries remain on high alert. India has not officially commented on the Rawalpindi stadium strike. The fate of the scheduled PSL match remains uncertain.
