The comment came as India faced an unprecedented wave of drone-based attacks across its western border, with Pakistan deploying swarm and kamikaze drones at a scale never seen before in the subcontinent.

The world's first drone war between nuclear-armed neighbours has erupted in South Asia. On Thursday, India accused Pakistan of launching waves of drones and missiles at three military bases in Indian territory and Indian-administered Kashmir - an allegation Islamabad swiftly denied.

India’s missile and bomb strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir have prompted multiple attacks in retaliation between the nuclear-armed neighbors to the point that some are now calling it a de facto war.