New Delhi claims targeted, measured response; Islamabad vows retaliation

New Delhi, India – India has launched a series of airstrikes on what it described as ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in response to last month’s deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The strikes, dubbed ‘Operation Sindoor’, were carried out in the early hours of Wednesday and targeted nine locations, according to India’s Ministry of Defence. The ministry stated that the operation was a “commitment to bring those behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack to justice”. That attack had left 26 civilians — 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali — dead.

New Delhi has not identified any specific group as being responsible for the attack but has alleged Pakistani involvement, citing police reports naming two of the suspected attackers as Pakistani nationals. Pakistan has strongly denied any role.

Pakistan’s government condemned the strikes as “unprovoked aggression”, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling them a “heinous act that will not go unpunished”. A Pakistani military spokesman said three sites were struck — Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Bahawalpur in Punjab province — and reported seven fatalities, including two children.

India, meanwhile, insisted the strikes avoided military facilities and were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature”.

The latest confrontation marks a sharp escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and follows weeks of diplomatic tit-for-tat, including the suspension of visas, expulsion of diplomats, and skirmishes along the Line of Control.

The UN and several world powers have urged restraint. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “maximum restraint”, while the United States expressed hope that hostilities “end very quickly”.

Kashmir, a region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but administered in parts by each, has long been a flashpoint in bilateral relations, with previous attacks triggering cross-border military action, most notably in 2016 and 2019.