- India’s army has launched “Operation Sindoor”, hitting nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
- Pakistan says India attacked five locations and promises a robust response to the “act of war” from its neighbour.
- The Indian army said, “Justice is served” in a post on X after the missiles were fired.
- Tensions have been escalating between the two nuclear-armed countries since a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which India blamed on Pakistan. Pakistan has denied any involvement.
Three civilians killed by Pakistani artillery fire, Indian army says
India’s army says three civilians were killed overnight by Pakistani artillery fire.
The Pakistani army “resorted to arbitrary firing” across the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir, the army said in a statement.
“Three innocent civilians lost their lives in indiscriminate firing/shelling”, the army said, adding that Indian forces were “responding in proportionate manner”.
Pakistan’s PM condemns ‘cowardly attack’ on X
Pakistan’s prime minister is back on X condemning India’s “cowardly” and “unprovoked” attack.
“Pakistan reserves the absolute right to respond decisively to this unprovoked Indian attack — a resolute response is already under way,” Sharif wrote, according to a translation.
“The entire nation stands united behind its armed forces, and our morale and resolve remain unshaken,” he added.
Ramification of major armed conflict between Pakistan, India ‘devastating for both countries’
There is a risk of further escalation because, with the India-Pakistan equation, there is always a tit-for-tat.
Pakistan had said that it would respond forcefully.
Pakistan had also said that any attempt by India to divert the waters of the major rivers that are on the western side of the Indus River chain – and that includes the Chenab – that any river being diverted or water being cut off would be construed as an act of war.
The Indians have already resorted to that. We have reports that at least one major river, the Chenab, the Indians are holding water back and say that they will not release that water.
So that is a dangerous escalation because this is an existential threat. Pakistan is an agricultural country. It relies heavily on agriculture for its revenue and food security and Pakistani politicians, of course, have been saying that if the Indians stop those rivers, then those rivers will flow with blood.
So, at least at this moment, there should be caution by both sides. These are nuclear-armed states.
The ramifications of any major conflict between the two would be devastating for both countries.
Airlines, including Air India and Qatar Airways, suspend or divert flights
A growing list of airlines are suspending or rerouting flights.
Air India has announced the cancellation of all flights to and from nine cities, including Jammu, Srinagar and Leh in Indian-administered Kashmir, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Bhujuj in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and Amritsar in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab.
The airline said the routes would be suspended until midday on Wednesday, pending updates from authorities.
India’s SpiceJet and IndiGo have said that flights to and from destinations in northern India, including Jammu and Dharamshala, have been affected.
Pakistan International Airlines has announced the diversion of already airborne flights to Karachi.
Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to Pakistan due to the closure of Pakistani airspace.
Schools closed in Pakistan’s Punjab province
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of the Pakistani province of Punjab, says that educational institutions will remain closed tomorrow “in view of public safety”.
Sharif said that examinations in universities and colleges would also be postponed, with the exception of tests administered by international examining bodies.
Rubio says monitoring situation closely
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is “monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely.”
“I echo [Trump’s] comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution,” Rubio wrote in a post on X.
As we reported earlier, the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC said India had briefed Rubio shortly after the attacks against Pakistan.
Pakistan ‘not mincing its words’, confirms attacks on Indian military targets
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking to a foreign TV network, confirmed that at least five Indian aircraft have been shot down and that several Indian soldiers have been taken prisoner.
This is according to the Pakistani defence minister.
Pakistan said that it would respond to any Indian attack against Pakistan, and Pakistan is now responding to that Indian attack.
We are told that at least one infantry brigade headquarters has been destroyed. Heavy shelling has now resumed on the Line of Control that separates Pakistan-administered Kashmir from Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan and India were both warned by the United States and friendly countries, including the United Nations secretary-general, who had asked both countries to exercise maximum restraint.
The Indian side said that they struck non-military targets but Pakistan is not mincing its words, saying that they had attacked Indian military targets in reprisal for what Pakistan says was an attack on innocent civilians.
People across Pakistan are now on the streets. They were woken up after that Indian strike.
A state of emergency was declared in the hospitals. All hospital staff have been asked to report to duty and that is the same situation in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Airports closed in Indian-administered Kashmir, northern India
India’s NDTV broadcaster is reporting that the airport in Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir, has been closed to civilians.
India’s IndiGo airline has also advised passengers that flights to and from several airports are being affected by “changing airspace conditions in the region”.
According to IndiGo, the airports affected include Srinagar and Leh, in Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bikaner, and Dharamshala, in northern India.
India’s SpiceJet also said, in a post on X, that airports in “parts of northern India” were closed “due to ongoing situation”.
UAE foreign minister urges restraint
In a statement, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed has called on both India and Pakistan to “exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace”.
Zayed “reaffirmed that diplomacy and dialogue remain the most effective means of peacefully resolving crises, and achieving the shared aspirations of nations for peace, stability, and prosperity”, the statement said.
At least 8 killed in Pakistan as six locations targeted by Indian missiles: ISPR chief
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan’s armed forces, delivered a brief late-night press conference in which he revealed that at least eight Pakistanis were killed and at least 35 more were injured in Indian missile attacks.
Chaudhry said that India’s military targeted six different locations in Pakistan, launching a total of 24 strikes.
The biggest attack was in Ahmedpur Sharqia, near Bahawalpur city in Punjab province. According to Chaudhry, a mosque compound was targeted and five people were killed, including a 3-year-old girl.
Other attacks took place in Muridke city, a village near the city of Sialkot, and Shakargarh, also in Punjab province.
Two locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir – in Muzzafarabad and Kotli – were also targeted and two mosques were destroyed. A 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy were killed in the attacks.
The military spokesperson did not provide any information regarding earlier claims of the downing of Indian jets.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister claims more planes shot down, soldiers captured
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Asif said that Pakistan has shot down five Indian planes and has also taken some Indian soldiers prisoner.
We’ve been reporting on Pakistan’s claims it has shot down Indian fighter jets, but Indian officials have yet to comment.
Pakistan says 2 mosques targeted in India strikes
A Pakistani military spokesman told the broadcaster Geo that sites struck by India included two mosques.
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Geo that all sites targeted by India were civilian and not infrastructure of armed groups. He said India’s claim of targeting “camps of terrorists is false”.
India blamed Pakistan for violence in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, in which 26 men were killed, and had promised to respond. Pakistan denied it had anything to do with the killings and said it had intelligence that India was planning to attack.
Pakistani minister claims downed third Indian jet, drone
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar now says that a third Indian jet, as well as an Indian drone, have been “shot down by Pakistan.”
“Pakistan has befittingly retaliated against Indian Aggression,” Tarar said in a post on X.
There was no immediate comment from India.
Pakistan’s military ‘response is under way’ to Indian attack
Pakistan’s military ‘response is under way’ to Indian attack
Reports have come in, confirmed by Pakistani military sources, that at least two [Indian] aircraft were shot down. We are now getting reports of a possible third fixed-wing aircraft also being shot down.
The Indian attack unfolded just after midnight [Wednesday] local Pakistan time [19:00 GMT on Tuesday]. We were able to observe a number of fighter aircraft… we could hear the noise of possible Pakistani aircraft on their way towards the Indian positions because now, we are told that Pakistan is giving its response. That response is under way.
Pakistani sources are also now saying that they have destroyed a brigade headquarters.
I spoke to one of our reporters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. He said there was heavy shelling going on along the Line of Control. That the civilian population was leaving those areas and, of course, an emergency has also been declared in Pakistani-administer Kashmir.
In hospitals, all staff leave has been cancelled.
India briefed US after missile attack on Pakistan
Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval briefed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after the attacks against Pakistan, the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, says.
“India’s actions have been focused and precise,” the embassy said in a statement.
It added that Rubio, who is also Trump’s acting US national security adviser, had been briefed “on the actions taken”.
Pakistan speaks of ‘crushing response’
In a social media post, Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, accused India of carrying out “cowardly attacks on innocent civilians and mosques”.
India said it had hit “terrorist infrastructure”, claiming it struck sites where attacks against it were planned and directed.
In his post, Tarar said that “the Armed Forces of Pakistan are delivering a crushing response, exactly in line with the sentiments of the people”, without offering details.
“This nation will hold the enemy accountable for every single drop of its martyrs’ blood,” he added.
How many wars have India and Pakistan fought?
Four – three of them over Kashmir.
Two months after the end of the British rule and emergence of the two South Asian nations, a war over Kashmir erupted between them. Pakistani militias invaded Kashmir, then ruled by a Hindu king, to claim full control over the region. The king, Hari Singh, pleaded with India for help. New Delhi agreed on condition that Singh would sign an instrument of accession, merging Kashmir with India. The king agreed. The war ended in 1948, and a ceasefire agreement allowing India and Pakistan to control parts of Kashmir came into effect on January 1, 1949.
In 1965, a clash between Indian and Pakistani border forces escalated into a full-blown war. Pakistani forces crossed the ceasefire line into Indian-administered Kashmir, while Indian forces crossed the international border into Pakistan’s Lahore city and launched attacks. After thousands of casualties on both sides, a UN Security Council resolution ended the war.
In 1971, Pakistan and India were embroiled in an armed conflict over then East Pakistan, which Indian forces helped liberate, leading to the establishment of Bangladesh as a nation. In 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement, which established a Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing Kashmir into two parts.
In 1999, Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC, sparking a war in Kargil area of Indian-administered Kashmir. Indian troops were able to push Pakistani soldiers back after bloody battles in the snowy heights of the Ladakh region.