India claims the overnight raid targeted terrorist locations.
Pakistan has condemned India’s cross-border military operation, alleging it resulted in civilian deaths, and has vowed a strong response. India asserts its forces targeted what it identified as “terrorist camps” within Pakistan.
This escalation follows a terrorist attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir last month that killed 26 civilians. The Indian government accuses Islamabad of sheltering a group linked to the attack, justifying Wednesday’s missile and drone strike as retaliation.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) rejected India’s justification, calling the military action an “unprovoked, cowardly and unlawful act of war” in a statement released after a meeting led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Islamabad insists the targeted areas were civilian and that the alleged terrorist camps are “imaginary.” Reports from Pakistan indicate at least 26 deaths and 46 injuries. The NSC further claimed that Pakistani forces shot down five Indian aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, involved in the operation.
”Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defense, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing,” the statement asserted, urging the international community to hold India responsible for purported breaches of international law.
India described its Operation Sindoor as “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” targeting sites connected to the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The April attack was claimed by The Resistance Front, allegedly an LeT offshoot, which India identifies as the mastermind.
Russia has denounced the initial attack in Kashmir, with its Foreign Ministry stating Moscow “objects to any terrorist activities and emphasizes the need for the international community to unite to effectively fight against this evil.” Russia has called for both India and Pakistan to show restraint and seek diplomatic solutions.
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