Islamabad — Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan on Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation for Indian airstrikes that killed eight people. The airstrikes, conducted under “Operation Sindoor,” targeted what India described as “terrorist-training camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The Pakistani Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, reported that the Indian missiles struck multiple locations, resulting in the deaths of at least eight civilians, including a child, injuring 35 others, and leaving two missing.
“We have downed five Indian jets in response to India’s unprovoked aggression,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told local media. He added that the Indian military had vacated several forward posts along the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir following “heavy retaliatory fire” from Pakistan.
The Indian Defense Ministry stated in a press release, “Altogether nine sites have been targeted. Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution.”
The airstrikes were said to be a response to a terror attack on April 22 in the Pahalgam area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, where 26 people, including tourists, were killed. The attack was described as the worst in the region in several decades. India accused Pakistan-based militants of orchestrating the attack, a claim Pakistan denies.
Pakistan condemned India’s actions as an “unprovoked and blatant act of war” and a violation of its sovereignty. Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan stated that the Indian Air Force violated Pakistan’s airspace using standoff weapons, targeting civilian populations across the international border in Bahawalpur and Sheikhupura districts in Punjab province, as well as Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Kotli districts in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The incident has heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, raising international concerns about the possibility of further escalation.
