- Quick Highlights:
- India’s airstrikes kill at least 31 in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
- Pakistan warns of retaliation, calling India’s actions an “act of war.”
- Heavy artillery fire continues along the Kashmir border.
- India claims strikes targeted militant hideouts in response to an earlier shooting attack.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply escalated following a series of pre-dawn airstrikes by India in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of at least 31 people. The strikes, which India says targeted militant hideouts, are seen as a retaliatory measure for the deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, earlier in April. Pakistani authorities have condemned the strikes, labeling them as an “act of war” and warning that India would “suffer the consequences.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif authorized military action in response, stating that India’s attack was “cowardly” and vowed to take necessary retaliatory steps. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, claimed that five Indian jets were shot down during the airstrike exchanges, with witnesses reporting dramatic explosions from the wreckage.
Amidst the aerial assaults, ongoing artillery fire has intensified along the disputed Line of Control (LoC), which separates the two nations in Kashmir. The violence has led to a rising death toll on both sides, with 15 Indian civilians reportedly killed by “indiscriminate” fire. Pakistani officials also confirmed additional casualties, with five more people dying from artillery shelling near the border.
As the situation remains tense, both countries continue to mobilize forces, and the international community watches closely, urging restraint from both sides.
