India-Pakistan tensions surged sharply early Thursday morning after a massive explosion hit Walton Road near Walton Airport in Lahore. The blast occurred a day after India conducted surgical strikes under Operation Sindoor. The strike hit nine key terror infrastructure centers in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) run by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Witnesses and the local media attested to hearing several explosions in Lahore’s Naseerabad and Gopal Nagar neighborhoods. “Multiple explosions were heard near Walton Airport on Walton Road in Lahore’s Naseerabad and Gopal Nagar neighborhoods. Residents came out of their houses in panic and reported seeing clouds of smoke,” Pakistani broadcasters reported locals as saying. Geo TV and a Reuters reporter said the same, adding that panic enveloped the neighborhood as thick clouds of smoke billowed above the cityscape.

Operation Sindoor and Aftermath

This explosion occurs only hours following India’s declaration of successful attacks that “100% wiped out” terror targets. Indian forces said that these operations were undertaken in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre in which 26 foreign tourists, one of them a Nepali citizen, were brutally murdered by Pakistan-based terrorists.

Though there is no official word connecting Thursday’s blast with the Indian strikes, the timing has heightened speculation. Experts caution against a potential retaliatory spiral that can undermine regional peace.

The Need for Global Focus

With Pakistan’s airspace sealed off and diplomatic dialogue tense, world observers have called for caution. But both countries are still on red alert. Thursday’s blast in Lahore shows that the aftershocks of Operation Sindoor are only just beginning—and that one ill-chosen move can set off wider implications.