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Early on Wednesday morning, around 1:44 AM, the Indian armed forces launched a military operation. They used missiles to attack nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Two of the main places targeted were Muridke and Bahawalpur. These areas are known to be bases for two dangerous terrorist groups: Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
This military action was taken in response to a terrorist attack that happened earlier on April 22 in Pahalgam, which is in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir. That terror attack killed 26 people — 25 Indians and one person from Nepal.
After the Indian strikes, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reacted strongly. He called the missile attacks an “act of war” and said Pakistan had the right to respond with force. He also said that both the Pakistani people and their military were prepared to face enemies and would not allow any threats or harmful plans to succeed.
These missile strikes happened just before India was scheduled to carry out a nationwide emergency drill. This drill was planned to test how ready different areas (244 districts) are in case of a hostile attack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a strong message. He said that those responsible for the April 22 terror attack will be hunted down no matter where they are — even if they are far away. He promised that the punishment will be more severe than they can imagine.
India said that it had not hit any Pakistani military facilities, saying its “actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.
What Pakistan said about Attack?
According to Pakistan, three different areas were hit: Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Bahawalpur in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told GeoTV that the strikes hit civilian areas, adding that India’s claim of “targeting terrorist camps” is false.
Ahmed Sharif, a spokesperson for the Pakistani military, later told the BBC that seven people, including two children, had been killed in the strikes.
Officials said eight people were killed, including a child and two teenagers, and 35 injured. “India has shamelessly attacked the civilian population, and the attack will be answered accordingly,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on national television.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that “Pakistan has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given.”
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan’s chief military spokesman, told CNN that two Indian aircraft had been shot down by Pakistan. Soon after, Asif told Geo News that five Indian warplanes had been downed, including French-made Rafales. The claims could not be independently verified, and the Indian government had no immediate response.
Pakistan’s military reported 24 “impacts” across six locations: Ahmedpur East, Muridke and Sialkot in Pakistan, and Kotli, Bagh and Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
Faryal Waheed, 45, was getting ready for bed about 12:30 a.m. in the eastern Pakistani city of Bahawalpur when she heard four loud blasts in quick succession, she said. Her gatekeeper told her he had seen “huge flashes of light in the sky.”
Waheed’s husband, a general surgeon at Bahawalpur’s biggest government hospital, was called in to work about 1 a.m., she said.
“The entire staff has been called in, doctors, nurses and ward boys,” she said. “I’m scared for us.”
Another Bahawalpur resident, 58-year-old Atif Saeed, ran outside when he heard the blasts, hoping to check on his nearby fertilizer warehouse. Police and soldiers were already in the streets, he said, and they urged him to return home.