Tensions between India and Pakistan have surged following India’s launch of Operation Sindoor, a military strike targeting sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Punjab province. The Indian government said the operation was a response to last month’s deadly attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir, which it blames on Pakistan. Islamabad denies any involvement.
The Indian Ministry of Defence confirmed that its forces targeted nine locations used to coordinate cross-border militant activity. In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the government described the strikes as “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” emphasizing that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted.
“These strikes were aimed solely at terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where attacks against India have been organized,” the statement said. “India has shown considerable restraint in its choice of targets and execution methods.”
Civilian Casualties and Pakistani Response
Pakistani officials reported that Indian missiles hit sites in Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as well as Bahawalpur in the eastern Punjab province. At least eight civilians were killed and more than 35 injured, according to Pakistan’s military. A mosque in Bahawalpur was reportedly struck, killing a child and injuring two others.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in an interview that Pakistan’s forces had downed five Indian aircraft and taken Indian soldiers prisoner. “Pakistan warned that any Indian military action would be met with force. That response is now underway,” he said.
A Pakistani military spokesperson told Geo News that several civilian sites, including two mosques, were hit during the Indian strikes. He confirmed that Pakistan’s counter-offensive had begun but did not give details.
Heavy cross-border shelling resumed along the Line of Control (LoC), the disputed frontier separating Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Police and eyewitnesses confirmed that exchanges of artillery and small arms fire occurred in at least three locations.
Root of the Conflict
The escalation comes after a deadly attack in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in Indian-administered Kashmir. Twenty-six people were killed in the incident, which India attributes to Pakistan-backed militants. Islamabad has rejected the accusations, calling them “baseless and politically motivated.”
India’s ruling government has faced increasing domestic pressure to take a hard stance. Analysts suggest this may have contributed to the timing and nature of the strikes.
“This escalation is not surprising,” said Nitasha Kaul, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy. “Given the current hyper-nationalist mood in India, there was significant pressure to respond with military force.”
Kaul warned, however, that Kashmiris—caught between two nations—will bear the heaviest burden. “Once again, the worst-affected are ordinary people in the region. They’re trapped in a decades-long dispute they have little control over.”
International Reaction
The United Nations and other global actors have urged both sides to step back from the brink.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan. “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between two nuclear-armed states,” his spokesperson said.
U.S. President Donald Trump also addressed the crisis. “It’s a shame, and I hope it ends very quickly,” he said from the White House.
The risk of further escalation remains high, with military units mobilized on both sides of the LoC. Diplomatic backchannels are reportedly active, but public statements from both governments suggest little immediate willingness to de-escalate.
A Fragile Peace
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. Though both countries regularly exchange fire across the LoC, full-scale air strikes and retaliatory attacks mark a serious escalation.
With heavy casualties, civilian trauma, and a history of unresolved conflict, the situation remains volatile. Regional experts and world leaders alike are calling for calm, warning that continued aggression could spiral beyond control.
