Image Credentials: Image Title: India Strikes Nine Sites in Pakistan Following Deadly Kashmir Attack Source: (Grok, xAI) Date: May 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (Grok, xAI), and it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Staff Writer with Agencies
New Delhi/Islamabad – May 6, 2025 — India launched a series of missile strikes early Wednesday targeting nine locations in Pakistan-administered territory, following last month’s deadly assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The operation, dubbed Operation Sindoor, marks a major escalation in tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors and comes amid mounting hostilities on both sides of the border.
According to Indian officials, the strikes were focused on “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Punjab province, targeting what the Indian Defense Ministry described as sites “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.” New Delhi asserts that the action was a “focused, measured and non-escalatory” response to the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people, including 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali tourist, were killed in a brutal shooting last month. India blames the attack on Pakistan-based militants, a claim Islamabad has firmly rejected.
Pakistan reported civilian casualties in the aftermath of the missile strikes. According to Pakistani security officials speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the missiles struck a mosque in Bahawalpur, Punjab, killing a child and injuring a woman and a man. The Pakistani military later confirmed at least two deaths and twelve injuries across the affected regions.
In retaliation, Pakistan said it launched responsive strikes, though no details have yet been released. Speaking to local broadcaster ARY News, Pakistani army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif condemned the Indian operation, calling it a “cowardly attack targeting innocent civilians under the cover of darkness.”
The Indian Defense Ministry emphasized that no Pakistani military sites were targeted, asserting the country’s “restraint” in selecting non-military targets to minimize escalation. “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” the ministry said in a statement, promising a more detailed briefing on Operation Sindoor later today.
This latest flare-up comes just a day after a roadside bomb in southwestern Pakistan killed seven Pakistani soldiers. President Asif Ali Zardari blamed the Baloch Liberation Army, an insurgent group with historic ties to Indian interests, for the bombing — an accusation India has not publicly addressed.
In the wake of the Kashmir attack, India withdrew its diplomats and ordered citizens to return from Pakistan, closing a major border crossing. Pakistan responded by suspending bilateral trade and returning its diplomats.
The international community has yet to issue a formal response. The U.S. State Department has been contacted for comment, but the Pentagon stated it had no comment.
With over $760 billion in trade between India and Pakistan and a volatile geopolitical climate, analysts warn the situation could spiral into a larger conflict unless both sides move swiftly toward de-escalation.