The Indian military has launched a series of missile strikes as part of what it has called “Operation Sindoor,” targeting nine locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Pakistani military sources, the strikes hit three sites within Pakistan. The spokesperson stated that Islamabad views the action as an unprovoked aggression and that Pakistan will issue a response, repots Al-Jazeera.
Amid the heightened tensions, fears of a broader conflict are growing among residents in Islamabad, who are bracing for possible escalation.
The latest escalation between India and Pakistan comes in the aftermath of a deadly April 22 attack in the tourist town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, where 26 people—mostly Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen—were killed. Armed assailants dressed in camouflage opened fire on unsuspecting tourists at Baisaran meadow, marking the deadliest assault in the region in 25 years.
India has pointed to Pakistan as a possible party to the attack, a charge Islamabad has firmly denied, calling instead for an impartial investigation.
The Pahalgam massacre, which occurred during a high-profile visit by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, has brought relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors to a dangerous low. Diplomatic ties have since unraveled, with both sides reducing engagement, suspending bilateral agreements, and expelling each other’s diplomats and citizens.
At the end of April, Pakistan warned that it had “credible intelligence” of an imminent Indian military strike—an assessment that has now materialized.
“Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted,” the ministry said in a statement. “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selecting targets and executing the operation.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan blamed India for a deadly incident earlier in the day, in which seven of its soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern province of Balochistan. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but Pakistani officials have linked the event to broader regional instability.
The contested Kashmir region remains the core of the decades-long conflict between the two nations, both of which claim it in full but control only parts.
As fears grow of a broader military confrontation, regional and international actors, including the United Nations, are urging both countries to show restraint and avoid further escalation.
