India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islamabad calls ‘act of war’

ISLAMABAD - India fired missiles at Pakistan early Wednesday, in what it said was retaliation for last month’s massacre of Indian tourists. Pakistan called the strikes an act of war and claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets.

The missiles killed 31 people, including women and children, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s Punjab province, Pakistan’s military said. The strikes targeted at least nine sites "where terrorist attacks against India have been planned," India’s Defense Ministry said. Two mosques were hit.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country would avenge the dead but gave no details, fanning fears of all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Already, it’s their worst confrontation since 2019, when they came close to war.

A heavy exchange of fire continued to follow the missile strikes, and officials in each country confirmed people killed. Sharif commended the armed forces for shooting down five Indian jets, which he said were hit after they fired their missiles but while still in Indian airspace.

India strikes Pakistan, Kashmir

Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors since an April attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir, in some cases killing men before their wives’ eyes.

India accuses Pakistan of being behind the attack, which was claimed by a militant group calling itself Kashmir Resistance. India has said the group is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a disbanded Pakistani militant group.

Islamabad denies involvement.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

In the wake of the massacre, the rivals have expelled each other’s diplomats and nationals, closed their borders and shuttered airspace. India has also suspended a critical water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.

The escalation raises the risk of war

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the 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," Sharif said.

It was not clear if Pakistan’s claim that it shot down fighter jets constituted its retaliation or if more might be coming.

The country’s National Security Committee said Pakistan reserves the right to respond "in self-defense, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing."

The statement said the strikes were carried out "on the false pretext of the presence of imaginary terrorist camps" and said they killed civilians.

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said the strikes were some of the highest-intensity ones 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," Kugelman said. "The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly."

In 2019, the two countries came close to a war after a Kashmiri insurgent rammed an explosive-laden car into a bus carrying Indian soldiers, killing 40. India carried out airstrikes in Pakistani territory, and Pakistan shot down an Indian warplane and captured the pilot, later releasing him.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint because the world could not "afford a military confrontation" between India and Pakistan, according to a statement from spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

China also called for calm. Beijing is the largest investor in Pakistan by far and has multiple border disputes with India, including one in the northeastern part of the Kashmir region.

Pakistan’s National Security Committee met Wednesday morning. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security and postponed his upcoming trip to Norway, Croatia and the Netherlands.

Several Indian states held civil defense drills Wednesday to train civilians and security personnel to respond in case of attack.

Scenes of panic and destruction

What we know:

The missile strikes hit six locations and killed at least 26 people, including women and children, said Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif.

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

In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as blasts ripped through houses. He saw people running in panic and authorities immediately cut power to the area.

People ran into the streets or open areas. "We were afraid the next missile might hit our house," said Mohammad Ashraf, another resident.

Indian jets damaged infrastructure at a dam in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to Sharif, the military spokesman, calling it a violation of international norms.

The strikes also hit close to at least two sites previously tied to militant groups that have since been banned, according to Pakistan.

One hit Subhan Mosque in Punjab’s Bahawalpur city, killing 13 people, 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 in Punjab, damaging it. A sprawling building located nearby served as the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba until 2013, when Pakistan banned the militant group and arrested its founder.

India’s Defense Ministry called the strikes "focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature."

"No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted," the statement said, adding that "India has demonstrated considerable restraint."

Indian politicians from different political parties lauded the operation, which was named "Sindoor," a Hindi word for the vermillion powder worn by married Hindu women on their foreheads and hair. It was a reference to the women whose husbands were killed in front of them in the Kashmir attack.

Exchanges of fire and planes fall on villages in India-controlled Kashmir

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

Indian police and medics said 12 civilians were killed and at least 40 wounded by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district near the highly militarized de facto border. At least 10 civilians were also injured in Kashmir’s Uri sector, police said.

Shortly after India’s strikes, aircraft fell in three villages: two in India-controlled Kashmir, a third in India’s northern Punjab state.

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.

Debris from one plane was scattered across one village, including in a school and a mosque compound, according to police and residents. Firefighters struggled for hours to douse the resulting blazes.

"There was a huge fire in the sky. Then we heard several blasts also," said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a resident of Wuyan village in India-controlled Kashmir.

Another aircraft fell in an open field in Bhardha Kalan village. Resident Sachin Kumar told The Associated Press he heard massive blasts and saw a huge ball of fire.

Kumar said he and several others rushed to the scene, where they saw Indian soldiers carry away the pilots.

A third aircraft crashed in a farm field in Punjab, a police officer told the AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as the blast ripped through houses and saw people running in panic. Authorities immediately cut the power, leading to a blackout.

Later, locals inspected the damage to their homes in the aftermath of the missile attacks, rubble and other debris crunching underfoot.

People took refuge on the streets and in open areas, fearful of what might happen. "We were afraid the next missile might hit our house," said Mohammad Ashraf.

Authorities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have declared an emergency in the region’s hospitals.

Pakistan shut schools in Kashmir and Punjab province after the missile strikes. It had earlier closed seminaries in Kashmir in anticipation of an attack by India.

India hit by shelling as a plane falls on a school building

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

The Indian army said three civilians were killed when Pakistani troops "resorted to arbitrary firing," including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two countries, and their international border. It said it was "responding in a proportionate manner."

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

State-run Pakistan Television, quoting security officials, said the country’s air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation but provided no additional detail. There was no immediate comment from India about Pakistan’s claim. Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has said Indian forces had launched the strikes from inside Indian airspace.

The debris of plane parts were scattered in the outskirts of the region’s main city , including in a school and a mosque compound, according to Srinagar police and residents.

"There was a huge fire in the sky. Then we heard several blasts also," said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a resident of southern Wuyan village in the Pampore area, where the incident occurred.

Firefighters struggled for hours to douse the fires.

Another aircraft fell in an open field in the village of Bhardha Kalan near southern Akhnoor town, close to the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir shortly after the strikes.

Village resident Sachin Kumar told The Associated Press that he heard massive blasts followed by a huge ball of fire.

Kumar said he and and several other villagers rushed to the scene and found two pilots with injuries. Both were later taken away by the Indian army.

Pakistan said India’s strikes posed a significant threat to commercial air traffic. "This reckless escalation has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict," the statement said.

Meanwhile, authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir shut Srinagar city’s airport for civilian flights following directions from the Indian air force, senior airport official said Javed Anjum said.

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir also closed all schools and other educational institutions in at least seven border areas and the area around Srinagar airport, officials said.

India speaks to US

What they're saying:

The Indian Embassy in Washington said in a statement that national security advisor Ajit Doval spoke with U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the strikes. The embassy said "India has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of survivors" that point towards "the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the attack."

Indian officials said the armed forces had used precision strike weapon systems to carry out the strikes, targeting the headquarters of militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.

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