India escalates border dispute with Pakistan by launching missiles after Kashmir tourist killings
India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire and gunshots along the contested Kashmir border, marking one of the most intense conflicts between the two nuclear-armed rivals in years.
India escalated its longstanding border standoff with Pakistan by launching a series of missile strikes against a number of points in Pakistan and Pakistani-held Kashmir. The attacks, which killed at least three individuals, follow a violent assault on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month to further stoke tensions between the two nuclear states.
The Indian military claimed that its mission, code-named "OPERATION SINDOOR," was directed at terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, which it accused of conspiring and carrying out attacks against India. The missile attacks are one of the most intense military confrontations between India and Pakistan in the past few years.
India attack Pakistan's border after Kashmir tourist killings
India struck nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-held Kashmir on Wednesday, killing three at least, as the deadliest fighting in years erupted between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Indian and Pakistani military forces exchanged heavy artillery and automatic gunfire along their disputed Kashmir border, with intense fighting in at least three locations, witnesses and police said.
This violence came after an attack on Hindu pilgrims visiting Indian Kashmir in April. Islamist militants killed 26 men in the April 22 attack, one of the most lethal attacks on civilians in India in almost two decades.
Pakistan claimed India launched missiles at three targets, though India's official account did not describe the attacks but reported that they hit "terrorist infrastructure" where attacks against India were being plotted. Indian television footage showed flames and explosions and huge plumes of smoke, and panicked people fleeing from several sites in Pakistan and Pakistani-held Kashmir. But, according to Reuters, they could not verify the video.
In Indian Kashmir, a policeman and witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions, artillery shells, and fighter jets overhead. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Islamabad would respond to India's attacks, but he would not elaborate. US President Donald Trump called the developments "a shame" and expressed hope for an early end to fighting. Pakistan declared a state of emergency in its Punjab province and put hospitals and emergency responders on red alert.
An Indian release claimed that the operation, 'OPERATION SINDOOR', targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and added that the attacks were measured, precise, and non-escalatory. India emphasized that no Pakistani military targets were hit, and that there was great restraint used in target selection.
Pakistan claimed two mosques hit their territory
On the contrary, a Pakistani military spokesman claimed that two mosques had been hit, and three individuals killed and twelve injured. Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, underestimated the claims by India, saying that all the sites hit were civilian and not militant camps.
The effects of the attacks also spread to India's stock exchange, where the NSE Nifty 50 index declined 1.19%. Muzaffarabad, the Pakistani Kashmir capital, was also cut off from electricity. India previously accused Pakistan of launching the attack on Hindu pilgrims and threatening retaliation, but Pakistan denied the charge and asserted it had credible information that India planned to attack.
The operation's name, 'Sindoor', has been understood as a gesture of respect towards the Hindu wives who lost their husbands in the tourist attack, since 'sindoor' is the red vermilion worn by married Hindu women as a symbol of marital vows and protection. Women discontinue wearing it upon becoming widows.
