Pakistan and India on high alert amid airport shutdowns and security drills in major cities

Tensions mount as Pakistani PM vows retaliation for military strikes by India that killed dozens across the country

Army soldiers examine the rubble of a mosque building damaged by Indian missile attack, in Muridke, a town in Pakistan's Punjab province. Picture: K.M. Chaudary/AP

Tensions were high across India and Pakistan on Thursday, with airports shut down and security drills under way in major border cities, amid warnings by Pakistan that it intended to retaliate for Wednesday’s strikes.

In a speech late on Wednesday night, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he would “solemnly swear that we will avenge each and every drop of blood of our martyrs,” after India’s missile airstrikes on Pakistan in the early hours, which killed 31 people across the country.