Did you just hear heavy artillery fire in Lahore? Here’s what it was…

Panic spread across various areas of Lahore as heavy artillery fire was heard by citizens hours after 12 Indian drones were shot down by Pakistan, including one in Lahore, amid clashes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

As citizens rushed to take cover in Lahore’s Cantonment, Cavalry Ground, Gulberg, Kahna, Model Town, Chungi Amar Sidhu areas as well as different phases of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) among others, The Current reached out to sources within security agencies to confirm the origin of the sound.

Upon inquiry, this scribe was told that the heavy artillery fire was a part of test firing by Pakistani forces in the Walton area of the provincial capital.

It merits a mention that an Indian drone was also shot down in the Walton area of Lahore early on Thursday morning. Videos of the incident showed people rushing to take cover as the drone flew across Lahore’s airspace with war sirens blared across the area.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also confirmed the Indian drone’s flight in Lahore.

In a press briefing, the ISPR director general (DG) further said that 12 Indian Harop drones were shot down in various parts of the country since last night.

Addressing the media, he detailed that armed forces being at a “high state of alert and vigilance” neutralised drones in Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Miano, Karachi, Chhor, Rawalpindi and Attock.

The ISPR DG said that one drone crashed near Lahore, while others were taken down close to Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Karachi, adding that four Pakistan Army men sustained injuries in Lahore while one civilian was martyred in Miano, Sindh.