India has launched missile attacks against targets in Pakistan, with the strikes coming after India blamed its northwestern adversary for an Islamic terrorist attack in Kashmir on April 22.
The Indian military announced in a statement the beginning of “Operation Sindoor,” which involves missile attacks against nine targets.
“A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the statement read.
Pakistani Inter-Services Public Relations Director Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told ARY News that Indian missiles hit areas in Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Kashmir, as well as Bahawalpur, much further to the south. According to the New York Times, Bahawalpur is home to a seminary associated with the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad. Chaudhry said several mosques were hit in the missile strikes.
“These attacks on mosques indicate the RSS Hindutva ideology, as they have targeted mosques,” he said.
Chaudhry reported that the strikes killed three Pakistani civilians and wounded a dozen.
Pakistan’s air force activated its defense systems and prevented Indian aircraft from entering its airspace.
Pakistan vowed to respond.
“This temporary happiness that India has achieved with this cowardly attack will be replaced with enduring grief,” Chaudhry said in a statement.
“Let me say it unequivocally: Pakistan will respond to this at a time and place of its own choosing. This heinous provocation will not go unanswered,” he told Dawn newspaper.
The Indian statement said that no Pakistani military targets were hit and that the strikes were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.”
“India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” it added.
A post from the account of the Indian Army said, “Justice is served.”
In his first statement on the matter, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that India had “chosen war.”
“The deceitful enemy has launched cowardly attacks on five locations in Pakistan. India has chosen war, and it will face a full and forceful response — one that is already underway,” he said. “The entire nation stands united behind our armed forces. The spirit and resolve of the Pakistani people remain strong. Pakistan’s people and military have always stood firm against aggression, and the enemy will never achieve its malicious goals.”
Pakistan followed through on its promise to retaliate quickly, firing artillery into India.
Pakistani state media PTV News, quoting security sources, claimed that the country’s air force shot down two Indian jets.
Videos posted on social media showed one of the missile strikes occurring near a crowd of civilians.
Other videos and images showed several Pakistani civilians killed or wounded.
President Donald Trump voiced his concern about the strikes when asked by a reporter at the White House.
“It’s a shame. We just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. You know, they’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it now. I just hope it ends very quickly,” he said.
According to Samaa TV, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif challenged India to a conventional war over the strikes.
“Come face us in the field if you have the courage – then let’s settle it man to man,” he said.
“They didn’t even have the courage to leave their homes. India deliberately targeted civilians in these strikes,” Asif added.
Security sources told the Associated Press of Pakistan that a retaliatory strike is underway, with an Indian brigade headquarters being destroyed.
The Indian military claimed Pakistan bombarded areas of Kashmir with artillery in retaliation.
INDIA HAS BLAMED PAKISTAN FOR THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN KASHMIR. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced his concern over the escalation.
“The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
