India has announced the launch of “Operation Sindoor,” a military operation targeting nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes come in the wake of a deadly attack last month on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blames on Pakistan—an accusation Islamabad denies.
According to the Indian government, the operation targeted what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The strikes, it said, were “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” with no Pakistani military installations targeted. India emphasized that it had exercised “considerable restraint” in both the selection of targets and the method of execution.
In response, Pakistan confirmed that it had launched retaliatory attacks on Indian military positions. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told a foreign media outlet that Pakistan had downed five Indian aircraft and captured several Indian soldiers.
Pakistani officials reported that the Indian strikes killed at least eight people and injured more than 35. The attacks reportedly struck areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, including Muzaffarabad and Kotli, as well as the eastern province of Punjab. One missile hit a mosque in Bahawalpur, killing a child and injuring two civilians, according to Pakistan’s military.
A Pakistani military spokesperson stated that five sites were hit, including two mosques, and confirmed that Pakistan’s military response was underway. Heavy shelling has resumed along the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Indian- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, heightening tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
