On Tuesday night, the Indian government confirmed it had carried out airstrikes on nine locations within Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes, part of a military operation called “Sindoor,” were aimed at what India described as terrorist facilities used to plan and launch attacks on its territory.
According to Pakistan’s army chief, 26 civilians were killed and 46 others injured during the strikes. He also noted that 57 international flights were passing through Pakistani airspace at the time of the attacks.
India emphasized that the operation was “targeted, measured, and non-escalatory,” with no Pakistani military installations hit. Officials stated the strikes demonstrated restraint in both target selection and execution.
The escalation follows the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. India has suggested Pakistani involvement, a claim Islamabad denies.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors have sharply intensified since the attack, leading to reduced diplomatic engagement and the suspension of bilateral agreements.
In late April, Pakistan said it had credible intelligence suggesting India was planning a military strike. Earlier the same day, Islamabad blamed India for the deaths of seven Pakistani soldiers in a bombing in Balochistan.
After the strikes, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar defended the action, calling for a global stance of “zero tolerance for terrorism.” Pakistan later claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets in what is now considered the most serious military confrontation between the two countries in over 20 years.
“Operation Sindoor,” named after the traditional red mark worn by married Hindu women, was reportedly chosen as a symbolic response to the Pahalgam attack, in which some of the victims were newlywed couples targeted because of their religion, according to India Today.
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