Translated with AI
The Indian government has announced the start of a military operation called "Sindoor", in which the Indian Armed Forces launched missile strikes on targets in Pakistan and the Pakistani part of the Kashmir region on Wednesday night. According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, the goal of the operation was "to destroy terrorist infrastructure", with strikes carried out on nine targets.
The official statement from the Indian side emphasized that the actions were “targeted and restrained” and “not aimed at escalating the conflict.” A representative of the Indian Ministry of Defense added that “no Pakistani military facility was targeted.” After the attack, a post appeared on the Indian army’s page on the social network X with the caption: “Justice has prevailed.”
In response to India's actions, Pakistani authorities closed airspace over the country for 48 hours. A spokesman for the Islamabad Defense Ministry said the strikes had killed at least eight people and injured 35 others. He said two mosques had also been hit. Pakistani state television said the strikes hit three different parts of the country, including the city of Muzaffarabad.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called India's actions "cowardly attacks by a wily enemy" and said Islamabad would "respond decisively to this act of war." He stressed that a response had already been given. The Pakistani prime minister also called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, which was held on Wednesday morning local time.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar later said that Pakistani forces shot down five Indian fighter jets and one drone in retaliation. He also said that an Indian brigade headquarters and a post on the Line of Control in Kashmir were destroyed. The Indian Army has yet to confirm these claims.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the developments and called on both sides to “exercise maximum restraint.” In an official statement, the Secretary-General’s office noted: “The world cannot afford a military standoff between India and Pakistan.”
Causes of exacerbation
Tensions between the two nuclear powers have risen again after a suicide bombing in the Indian town of Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. India accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, which Islamabad has categorically denied, calling for an international investigation.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to "severely punish" those responsible and has given the country's armed forces "complete freedom" to decide on the nature and timing of a military response.
India and Pakistan have engaged in three full-scale military conflicts since independence from Britain in 1947, two of which were over disputes over the territory of Kashmir. The countries also clashed in a border conflict in 1999 that went down in history as an undeclared war. Both countries possess nuclear weapons, making the current escalation extremely dangerous for regional and global security.
