India Launches Strikes on Terrorist Sites in Pakistan

New Delhi, India – Just after midnight on Wednesday, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, targeting what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The operation reportedly hit nine locations, with Pakistan’s armed forces confirming strikes on six sites.

According to Pakistani officials, the assault included 24 strikes, resulting in the deaths of at least eight individuals and injuring more than 35 others. The impacted locations included two sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

In response to the strikes, Pakistani defense forces claimed to have shot down five Indian warplanes. As of now, India has not made any official comments regarding these allegations.

The tension further escalated as Indian officials reported that Pakistani artillery fire had killed at least three people in Indian-administered Kashmir. The region, located in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, sits at a high altitude amidst mountainous terrain, with areas exceeding 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level.

Kashmir is home to about four million people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and approximately 13 million in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The Line of Control (LoC), established following a ceasefire in January 1949, marks the de facto border between the two territories and was formalized under the 1972 Simla Agreement.

Both India and Pakistan, along with China, lay claim to parts of Kashmir. Pakistan administers the northern and western regions, known as Gilgit and Baltistan along with Azad Kashmir, while India controls the southern regions, including Jammu, Ladakh, and the Kashmir Valley with its largest city, Srinagar. The terms “Indian-occupied Kashmir” and “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” are used interchangeably by both nations.

On April 22, an armed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir resulted in the killing of 26 men, making it one of the deadliest assaults on tourists in years. The group that claimed responsibility is alleged to have links to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, with India suggesting possible indirect support from Pakistan, a claim the country denies.

Before Wednesday’s operation, diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan had already simmered, with both nations taking measures such as cancelling each other’s citizens’ visas, recalling diplomatic staff, and closing airspace for one another’s flights.