Exclusive: Indian missiles leave death, chaos in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur hospital

As India rains missiles on Pakistani soil, frontline medics in Bahawalpur recount horror scenes, with bodies mangled beyond recognition and military taking control of rescue efforts

By Safeer Raza

BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan (MNTV) — As tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan escalate, the civilian cost of cross-border military strikes is becoming tragically clear.

In the southern Pakistani city of Bahawalpur, doctors and rescue workers were thrust into a nightmare after a series of Indian missile strikes struck civilian areas late Wednesday night, killing at least 31 people and injuring dozens more.

Speaking exclusively to MNTV on condition of anonymity, a female doctor at Bahawal Victoria Hospital described a night of unspeakable horror after Indian airstrikes pounded southern Punjab.

Bahawalpur’s largest hospital turned into a scene of carnage and chaos, with bodies “crushed beyond recognition” and military teams scrambling to manage the aftermath.

“That night, we received 31 injured and three dead bodies initially. The rest of the bodies were brought directly to the forensic mortuary,” she said. “Most of them were crushed beyond recognition.”

The Indian strikes, which reportedly targeted nine locations deep inside Pakistani territory, are the latest and most dangerous flashpoints in a rapidly intensifying conflict. Among the worst-hit areas was Bahawalpur, a densely populated region in southern Punjab province.

Pakistan’s Rescue 1122 emergency service launched the initial response, but within hours, the military had sealed off the blast sites and took over the rescue and relief operations.

Civilians, journalists, and even some local officials were barred from accessing the impact zones, fuelling speculation about the extent of the damage and the nature of the targets.

Inside Bahawal Victoria Hospital, staff were overwhelmed. “It was chaos,” the doctor said. “So many bodies we couldn’t even identify. We had to focus on saving those we could.”

By the next morning, the death toll at the hospital had risen to 14, with more than 30 injured. Due to the severe mutilation of many of the bodies, authorities called in the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) to conduct DNA testing for identification.

The strike is part of a broader pattern of escalating hostilities along the Line of Control and beyond. Pakistani officials claim the Indian attack was unprovoked and deliberately targeted civilian zones, while India has remained tight-lipped about the nature and scope of the operation.

Earlier this week, Pakistan’s military claimed to have shot down multiple Indian fighter jets, including state-of-the-art Rafale aircraft, in a retaliatory aerial engagement using J-10C jets.

Indian media outlets have largely downplayed both the airstrike casualties and the losses in aerial combat, focusing instead on rhetoric portraying the strikes as strategic precision hits.

However, international observers have expressed alarm, with several conflict monitoring groups confirming downed aircraft and urging both sides to de-escalate before the situation spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, in southern Punjab, frontline doctors and emergency workers are bracing for more. “We’ve started prepping additional ICU beds. Everyone’s tense. No one knows what’s coming next,” said a hospital official.

The doctor’s voice trembled as she recounted that night: “I’ve never seen anything like it. Children, women, elderly—some were just gone. Others were alive but barely. It’s something I won’t forget.”

As Pakistan buries its dead and recovers its wounded, the region holds its breath—fearful that the night of missiles and mangled bodies may just be the beginning.