Pakistan said it had shot down several Indian fighter jets in retaliation as three planes fell onto villages in India-controlled Kashmir.<\/p>\n
At least seven civilians were also killed in the region by Pakistani shelling, Indian police and medics said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 eyes.<\/p>\n
India has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, something Islamabad has denied.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Wednesday\u2019s airstrikes and said his country would retaliate.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,\u201d Mr Sharif said.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s National Security Committee met on Wednesday morning, and Pakistan summoned India\u2019s charge d\u2019affaires to lodge a protest. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special meeting of the cabinet committee on security.<\/p>\n South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said it was one of the highest-intensity strikes from India on its rival in years and that Pakistan\u2019s response would \u201csurely pack a punch as well\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese 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,\u201d Mr Kugelman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u201cafford a military confrontation\u201d between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n Several Indian states planned civil defence drills later on Wednesday, according to India\u2019s home ministry, to train civilians and security personnel to respond in case of any \u201chostile attacks\u201d, the ministry said in a statement. Such drills in India are rare in non-crisis times.<\/p>\n Indian politicians from different political parties lauded the strikes. \u201cVictory to Mother India,\u201d India\u2019s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, wrote on X.<\/p>\n India\u2019s main opposition Congress party called for national unity and said it was \u201cextremely proud\u201d of the country\u2019s army.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe applaud their resolute resolve and courage,\u201d Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.<\/p>\n India\u2019s army said the operation was named \u201cSindoor\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n The missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country\u2019s eastern Punjab province, killing at least 26 people including women and children, Pakistan\u2019s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Mr Sharif said the Indian jets also damaged infrastructure at a dam in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, calling it a violation of international norms.<\/p>\n India\u2019s defence ministry said the strikes targeted at least nine sites \u201cwhere terrorist attacks against India have been planned\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted,\u201d the statement said, adding that \u201cIndia has demonstrated considerable restraint\u201d.<\/p>\n Pakistan said the strikes hit at least two sites previously tied to banned militant groups.<\/p>\n One hit Subhan Mosque in Punjab\u2019s Bahawalpur city, killing 13 people including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Last month\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, there were heavy exchanges of fire.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Indian army said Pakistani troops \u201cresorted to arbitrary firing\u201d, including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the frontier.<\/p>\n Shortly after India\u2019s strikes, aircraft fell onto three villages in India-controlled Kashmir.<\/p>\n Lt Gen Sharif, the Pakistani military spokesperson, said the country\u2019s air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation for the strikes. There was no immediate comment from India about Pakistan\u2019s claim.<\/p>\n China called for restraint from both sides following India\u2019s strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cChina expresses regret over India\u2019s military actions this morning and is concerned about the current developments. China opposes all forms of terrorism,\u201d the ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe call on both India and Pakistan to prioritise peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, and avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Beijing is the largest investor in Pakistan, with a \u20ac65bn China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor project that spans across the country.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, China also has multiple border claims disputed with India, with one of these claims in the northeastern part of the Kashmir region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Army](\"http:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/cms_media\/module_img\/9221\/4610953_4_articleinline_PAKISTAN_20India_20085800.jpg\" "\\"Army")
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