India announced on Wednesday that it had conducted military strikes on Pakistan, following an attack by armed militants that resulted in the deaths of over two dozen civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks prior.
The Indian government reported that its forces targeted nine locations in Pakistan and within the disputed Kashmir region. In contrast, Pakistani military officials stated that five sites were affected, primarily in Punjab Province and its part of Kashmir.
The Indian government characterized its actions as "focused, measured and nonescalatory," emphasizing that no Pakistani military facilities were the target of the strikes.
In response, the Pakistani government declared that the strikes "will not go unanswered" and asserted it would retaliate at "a time and place of its own choosing," warning that India's temporary satisfaction would lead to lasting grief.
Pakistani military officials mentioned they have initiated a "measured but forceful" response, though they did not provide specific operational details.
At the White House, President Trump referred to the escalating situation between India and Pakistan as "a shame," expressing hope for a swift resolution.
The exact nature of the strikes, including whether they involved missiles launched from India or Indian fighter jets entering Pakistani airspace, remains unclear. The Pakistani military denied that Indian aircraft crossed into its airspace during the attacks.
Pakistani officials claimed that civilians had been killed in the Indian strikes, a statement that could not be independently verified. Residents of Muzaffarabad reported hearing jets overhead and indicated that a site previously associated with the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was likely targeted.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Army stated that additional locations were attacked, including Bahawalpur, which houses a religious seminary linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, as well as Kotli and Bagh in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Muridke in Punjab.
The Indian military operation has been named Sindoor, referencing the red vermilion worn by married Hindu women, symbolizing the traumatic nature of the recent attack in which many victims witnessed the deaths of their spouses.
The attack on April 22, which involved militants firing on tourists in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir, resulted in 26 fatalities and numerous injuries, marking one of the deadliest assaults on Indian civilians in years. India swiftly suggested that Pakistan was involved, a claim that Pakistan denied, and India provided scant evidence to support its assertions.
In the aftermath of the attack, India implemented a range of punitive measures against Pakistan, including threats to disrupt a key river system supplying water to Pakistan. Indian forces also initiated a broad crackdown in Kashmir, arresting hundreds as they sought the attackers, amid ongoing exchanges of small-arms fire along the border.
The recent strikes represent a significant escalation in the longstanding conflict between the two nations. Pakistan had previously vowed to respond to any aggression from India, with both countries capable of causing substantial harm to one another.
India has consistently accused Pakistan of inciting separatist violence in Kashmir, a region that has been a point of contention since the British partition of India in 1947, which created two nations — Pakistan, predominantly Muslim, and India, primarily Hindu. The Hindu monarch of Kashmir initially sought to maintain independence but eventually ceded to India amid military pressure from Pakistan.
Both countries currently administer portions of Kashmir while claiming the entire region, with Kashmiri voices largely marginalized. Since the 1999 war over Kashmir and the subsequent rise of separatist movements, the region has become one of the most militarized areas globally, with both nations frequently nearing conflict, as seen in the 2019 bombing that killed at least 40 Indian soldiers.
This bombing, attributed to Jaish-e-Mohammed, led to an Indian airstrike in Pakistan and the downing of an Indian jet, with tensions easing only after Pakistan released the captured pilot.