MBABANE – Tensions between India and Pakistan flared on Wednesday as the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor, targeting what it described as terrorist camps and hideouts in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province. The operation marks one of the most significant military engagements between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in over two decades.
In an official statement, the Indian government confirmed that missile strikes were carried out on nine locations identified as “terrorist infrastructure” allegedly used to orchestrate attacks on Indian territory. The precision strikes targeted areas in Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Bahawalpur in Punjab.
“These were precision strikes on terrorist camps. No civilian or military establishments were targeted or hit. All casualties were occupants of the terror camps,” a spokesperson for the Indian Defence Ministry stated.
Indian authorities emphasized that the operation was launched in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 civilians were brutally killed. India holds Pakistan-based groups responsible for the attack — a charge Islamabad has strongly denied.
In response, Pakistan’s military claimed it shot down five Indian aircraft and captured several Indian soldiers. Islamabad reported 26 fatalities and 46 injuries resulting from the Indian airstrikes and artillery fire. India, in turn, reported eight deaths due to Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC).
Reports from the LoC confirmed intense exchanges of fire, with witnesses and local police citing shelling and gunfire in at least three sectors along the disputed border.
India launched #OperationSindoor, in response to the barbaric #PahalgamTerrorAttack that claimed 26 lives. Focused, precise & restrained strikes were carried out on nine #terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy https://t.co/WM1hwdxBdn pic.twitter.com/6MOw8TqPoE
— India in Eswatini (@IndiaEswatini) May 6, 2025
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told a foreign media outlet that India had acted despite clear warnings, and alleged that several sites — including mosques — were damaged in the strikes. These claims remain unverified by independent sources.
The international community has reacted with concern. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for “maximum restraint,” warning of the global consequences of conflict between two nuclear states. U.S. President Donald Trump described the situation as “a shame” and urged both sides to de-escalate swiftly.
India has reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of its sovereign territory and maintains that its military actions are focused solely on eliminating cross-border terrorism.
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