Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated dramatically following a series of deadly missile strikes, raising fears of wider conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Early Wednesday, India launched missile attacks on multiple locations within Pakistani-controlled territory, killing at least 31 people, including a child. The strikes were described by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as an “act of war.”
India stated the offensive targeted militant infrastructure linked to the deadly assault last month that claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Kashmir. The region, which remains a flashpoint between the two countries, is administered separately by India and Pakistan but is claimed in full by both.
In response, Pakistan reported it had shot down several Indian fighter jets, with wreckage from three aircraft landing in Indian-administered Kashmir villages. At least seven civilians there were killed by Pakistani shelling, according to Indian police and medical sources.
The situation has deteriorated since the April massacre in Kashmir, where gunmen attacked a group of Indian Hindu tourists at a popular meadow, killing 26 people. India’s military said its operation was code-named “Sindoor,” a reference to the vermillion powder traditionally worn by married Hindu women, symbolizing those who lost their husbands in the attack.
India has accused Pakistan of supporting the militants involved, a charge Islamabad has firmly denied.
“Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,” said Prime Minister Sharif, following an emergency meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee. Pakistan also summoned India’s charge d’affaires to formally protest the strikes.
In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened the Cabinet Committee on Security, as officials confirmed that the Indian death toll had climbed to 10.
