Pakistan calls Indian strikes killing 26 an ‘act of war’ as tensions spiral over Kashmir

Pakistan said it had shot down several Indian fighter jets in retaliation as three planes fell onto villages in India-controlled Kashmir.

At least seven civilians were also killed in the region by Pakistani shelling, Indian police and medics said.

Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbours since an attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, at a popular meadow in the disputed territory of Kashmir, in some cases killing men before their wives’ eyes.

India has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, something Islamabad has denied.

Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by each, has been at the centre of tensions for decades and they have fought two wars over it.

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Wednesday’s airstrikes and said his country would retaliate.

“Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,” Mr Sharif said.

The country’s National Security Committee met on Wednesday morning, and Pakistan summoned India’s charge d’affaires to lodge a protest. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special meeting of the cabinet committee on security.

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said it was one of the highest-intensity strikes from India on its rival in years and that Pakistan’s response would “surely pack a punch as well”.

“These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other,” Mr Kugelman said.

“The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly.” 

Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesperson, said in a statement late on Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint because the world could not “afford a military confrontation” between India and Pakistan.

Several Indian states planned civil defence drills later on Wednesday, according to India’s home ministry, to train civilians and security personnel to respond in case of any “hostile attacks”, the ministry said in a statement. Such drills in India are rare in non-crisis times.

Indian politicians from different political parties lauded the strikes. “Victory to Mother India,” India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, wrote on X.

India’s main opposition Congress party called for national unity and said it was “extremely proud” of the country’s army. 

“We applaud their resolute resolve and courage,” Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

India’s army said the operation was named “Sindoor”, a Hindi word for the bright-red vermillion powder worn by married Hindu women on their forehead and hair, referring to the women whose husbands were killed in front of them.

The missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country’s eastern Punjab province, killing at least 26 people including women and children, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, said.

Officials said another 38 people were injured by the strikes, and another five people were killed in Pakistan during exchanges of fire across the border later in the day.

Mr Sharif said the Indian jets also damaged infrastructure at a dam in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, calling it a violation of international norms.

India’s defence ministry said the strikes targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned”.

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted,” the statement said, adding that “India has demonstrated considerable restraint”.

Pakistan said the strikes hit at least two sites previously tied to banned militant groups.

One hit Subhan Mosque in Punjab’s Bahawalpur city, killing 13 people including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital.

The mosque is near a seminary that was once the central office of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group outlawed in 2002. Officials say the group has had no operational presence at the site since the ban.

Another missile hit a mosque in Muridke, damaging its structure. A sprawling building located nearby served as the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba until 2013, when Pakistan banned the group and arrested its founder.

Last month’s attack on tourists was claimed by a group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance, which India says is also known as The Resistance Front and is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, there were heavy exchanges of fire.

The Indian police and medics said seven civilians were killed and 30 wounded by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district near the highly militarised Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two countries. Officials said several homes were also damaged in the shelling.

The Indian army said Pakistani troops “resorted to arbitrary firing”, including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the frontier.

Shortly after India’s strikes, aircraft fell onto three villages in India-controlled Kashmir.

Lt Gen Sharif, the Pakistani military spokesperson, said the country’s air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation for the strikes. There was no immediate comment from India about Pakistan’s claim.

China called for restraint from both sides following India’s strikes.

“China expresses regret over India’s military actions this morning and is concerned about the current developments. China opposes all forms of terrorism,” the ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson said in a statement.

“We call on both India and Pakistan to prioritise peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, and avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation.”

Beijing is the largest investor in Pakistan, with a €65bn China–Pakistan Economic Corridor project that spans across the country.

Meanwhile, China also has multiple border claims disputed with India, with one of these claims in the northeastern part of the Kashmir region.