Pakistan's Prime Minister has branded a missile attack by India tonight an "act of war" as his nation has vowed to retaliate. PM Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the "deceitful enemy has carried out cowardly attacks" at what he claimed were "five locations" in Pakistan. Indian military sources claimed "nine' targets were hit.

He added: "Pakistan has every right to give a full and strong response to this act of war imposed by India - and a full response is being given. The entire nation stands with the Armed Forces of Pakistan, and the morale and spirit of the Pakistani people are high. The Pakistani nation and the Armed Forces of Pakistan know well how to deal with the enemy. We will never allow the enemy to succeed in its nefarious objectives."

The missiles early struck locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country's eastern Punjab province, according to three Pakistani security officials. One of them struck a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, where a child was killed, and a woman and man were injured, one official said. Pakistani miltary sources have also claimed to have shot down two Indian fighter jets.

India’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that at least nine sites were targeted “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.”

The frightening conflict comes as Downing Street trumpeted a £4.8 billion new trade deal with India, which Sir Keir Starmer claimed would hail “a new era for trade and the economy”.

President Trump said it was a "shame" when asked about the emerging news during a White House press conference, he added: "We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval... I guess people knew something was going to happen, based on a little bit of the past, they've been fighting for a long time... I just hope it ends very quickly."

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG BELOW FOR MORE UPDATES.