India, May 9 -- India on Thursday night repelled multiple Pakistani strikes in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, and clamped a blackout across a wide swathe of the western border, as Islamabad stepped up hostilities hours after New Delhi issued a stern warning against any escalation.

There were unconfirmed reports of Pakistani aircraft, including at least one F-16, being downed and at least one pilot being captured by Indian forces. There were also unconfirmed reports late in the evening that India was using drones to target military locations in Sialkot, Lahore and possibly Islamabad, as a response to the Pakistani strikes.

The shower of drone and missile strikes on military sites seen on Thursday - India had thwarted P...