Pakistan vow revenge after India fires missiles on 7 May
On Wednesday (7 May), India carried out air and artillery strikes on Pakistan territory and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in its most significant military action across the de facto borders in over two decades.
The Indian government dubbed the offensive “Operation Sindoor”, referencing the vermilion worn by married Hindu women and alluding to the husbands killed in last month’s Kashmir tourist massacre — India Today reported.
“Justice is served,” the Indian army declared in a post on X.
Source: Indian Army on X
Meanwhile, the Indian government shared that nine Pakistani “terrorist infrastructure” sites were struck. Indian officials claimed that the terrorist attack in Kashmir had been “planned and directed” at these sites.
Indian officials also stated:
Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted.
Source: France24
Meanwhile, the Pakistani defence minister said that India’s claim of targeting “camps of terrorists is false“. He said that all the sites hit by India were civilian targets.
Source: Getty Images
Casualties and cross-border exchanges
Pakistani military spokesperson reported 26 civilian fatalities as of Wednesday (7 May) afternoon, after Indian missiles struck six locations, including two mosques.
The representative also said that five Indian aircraft were shot down. India has neither confirmed nor denied this.
Source: Tausee Mustafa for the Agence France-Presse
Pakistan says Indian strikes were ‘a blatant act of war’
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as “an unprovoked and blatant act of war“.
Source: Reuters
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the attack “unprovoked” and “cowardly”, stating Pakistan would respond but provided no specifics.
However, he warned that the “heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished”.
Tourist massacre in India Kashmir provoked attack
The strike came shortly after a terrorist attack that took place in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
At least 26 tourists died after a group of five gunmen opened fire at them.
Source: Reuters
India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the assault, an allegation that Pakistan denies.
Dangerous escalation for both nuclear-armed neighbours
Since a 2003 ceasefire, cross-border strikes have been rare. The last major air strike happened in 2019, when India targeted militant camps after a suicide attack killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.
Source: Farooq Khan for the European Pressphoto Agency
The scale of the Indian strike this time was far greater than that of 2019, analyst Michael Kugelman told Reuters.
“We can expect a sizable Pakistani response,” he said.
Mr Kugelman also warned that Pakistan’s response to India’s strikes would be an indication of how severe the crisis would be.
“All eyes will be on India’s next move. We’ve had a strike and a counter strike, and what comes next will be the strongest indication of just how serious a crisis this could become.”
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Featured image adapted from France24 and Getty Images.
