INDIA has launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir beginning in the wee hours of Wednesday, May 7, morning, an action which could lead to war between both nations.
India’s army says it struck nine locations in Pakistan in response to a deadly militant attack on tourists in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir just over two weeks ago.
“Operation Sindoor was a reaction to seek justice for the Pahalgam attack. The operation destroyed nine terror camps, recruitment centres, terror launch pads, indoctrination and training camps. Niche tech weapons used to avoid collateral damage,” Indian Colonel Sophia Qureshi said in a press briefing this morning.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri explained that India’s intelligence has proof of Pakistan’s role in the Pahalgam attack, noting that Pakistan is a haven for ‘terrorists’.
Today morning, India responded to cross-border terror. The attack has been aimed at destroying terror infrastructure across the border,” he said.
Pakistan reported that the attack killed 26 civilians, wounded 46 others.
The Pakistan army spokesperson said its forces shot down five Indian aircraft.
“Pakistan will respond to India at a time, place, and means of our own choice,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Indian police said that 10 civilians were killed, and 48 were injured by Pakistan.
The ICIR reports that in the April 22 Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives in India’s Kashmir region, militants separated the men from the women and children, asked the men their names, and then shot them at close range, security officials and survivors reported.
Around 1,000 tourists and 300 local service providers were in Baisaran Valley, often called “mini Switzerland” for its lush hilltop meadows and dense pine forests, when three gunmen carried out the attack, marking the worst in India in nearly 20 years.
A little-known militant group called the “Kashmir Resistance” initially claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post, expressing anger over the settlement of more than 85,000 “outsiders” in the region.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.