India strikes ‘terrorist targets’ in Pakistan

 

Islamabad has vowed retaliation as the most intense fighting in years broke out between the nuclear-armed rivals

India has launched “Operation Sindoor,” targeting what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistani-held part of disputed Kashmir, in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Baisaran Valley. Islamabad condemned the strikes as a “heinous provocation” and vowed retaliation.

New Delhi said it hit at least nine targets early Wednesday morning, insisting that the strikes were directed at “terrorist camps” and not the Pakistani armed forces or civilians.

“Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian government said in a statement.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the Indian operation, describing the strikes as a “cowardly” attack. “Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given,” he said.

According to Pakistani media, citing ISPR Director General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the strikes affected five locations across the country and left at least two civilians dead and 12 others injured.

“All of our air force jets are airborne,” Chaudhry said, vowing that Pakistan would retaliate.

The airstrikes follow the April 22 attack in Baisaran Valley, which left 26 civilians dead. India has held Pakistan indirectly responsible, alleging cross-border militant involvement. The Resistance Front, believed to be tied to the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, though later reports indicated that the group distanced itself from it.

Islamabad has vehemently denied that it had any role in the attack and has called for an impartial probe.

The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors have fought four wars since both gained independence from the UK in 1947.

• 06 May 2025

  23:26 GMT

  Pakistan’s military spokesperson has reported that Indian missile strikes killed eight civilians and injured 25, with two others missing, primarily in Bahawalpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad. New Delhi maintains its strikes precisely targeted nine terrorist facilities belonging to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba without aiming at civilians. 

• 23:12 GMT

  All 9 targets in Pakistan and the Pakistani-held part of disputed Kashmir are successfully neutralised, Times of India claimed, citing sources. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is monitoring the operation closely throughout the night,” it added. 

• 22:52 GMT

  Former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof warned that while the India-Pakistan conflict is unlikely to escalate to the level of nuclear warfare, it could spiral quickly unless outside powers intervene. He noted that retaliatory strikes between the two countries are likely to continue unless Islamabad reins in militant groups operating in Kashmir.

  “Even while I was at the Defense Department, we knew that Pakistan – its ISI, its intelligence service – basically controlled many of the terrorist groups, militants that operate in Kashmir. And this has been going on back and forth,” Maloof told RT.

  Maloof stressed the importance of diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation, suggesting that mediation from global powers – particularly Russia and China – could be crucial.

  “I don’t believe they’ll escalate to a nuclear capacity, because that’s something no country, even in the region, would tolerate, including Russia and China. And given the worldwide impact that that would have, even on a limited basis with tactical nukes, it would change the world forever,” he added.

   

• 22:41 GMT

  Srinagar airport in Kashmir shut operations with all flights suspended, Indian media reported. In addition, IndiGo Airlines announced that flights from Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bikaner, and Leh airports as well as  Dharamshala airport in Himachal Pradesh have been affected “by the current airspace restrictions.”

• 22:27 GMT

  Senior Indian officials have held urgent diplomatic consultations with the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Russia to explain the military strikes, according to sources close to New Delhi. 

• 22:26 GMT

  The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has condemned India’s missile strikes, describing them as “an unprovoked and blatant act of war” in an official statement released on Wednesday. According to the ministry, Indian forces violated Pakistani sovereignty by targeting five locations - three in disputed Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Kotli, Muzaffarabad, and Bagh) and two within Pakistan’s undisputed Punjab province (Muridke and Bahawalpur).

  The statement reported civilian casualties including women and children. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry mentioned Article 51 of the UN Charter, stipulating a right to self-defense, and vowed retaliation, warning the escalation has brought nuclear-armed neighbors “closer to a major conflict.”

• 22:25 GMT

  Indian police have reportedly stated that two women were injured in shelling, according to Reuters. It also reports “intense shelling” occurring in three locations across the Line of Control (LoC).

  Media also report heavy exchange of artillery fire at LoC. 

• 22:20 GMT

  India’s Operation Sindoor, reportedly carried out jointly by the Indian Army and Air Force, has so far focused on areas which New Delhi alleges host terror launch pads, according to RT South Asia Editor Ashok Bagriya. Bagriya emphasized that India has described the strikes as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” with no Pakistani military facilities targeted.

  The Indian government framed the operation as a direct response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead, including one Nepali national. He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to hold those responsible accountable, and the strikes appeared consistent with that pledge.

  “Nobody knew when this attack would come, and again India seems to have followed the pattern of attacking by surprise,” Bagriya said.

  He also drew parallels between the current operation and India’s 2019 Balakot airstrikes, which similarly targeted suspected terror infrastructure in Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir following the Pulwama attack. Bagriya added that the Indian government is expected to hold a formal briefing to provide further clarity on the nature and scope of the latest strikes.

   

• 22:16 GMT

  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “very concerned” about Indian strikes on Pakistan, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said.
  
  “He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” Dujarric added as quoted by Times of India. 

• 21:58 GMT

  Asian News International has published a video from the Line of Control (LoC) as the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan.

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https://www.rt.com/india/616873-pakistan-operation-kashmir-strikes/