India early Wednesday launched 24 precision missile strikes on nine militancy-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, including Bahawalpur and Muridke — what India called ‘strongholds of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba’.
The strikes were in response to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 dead, including a Nepali citizen.
According to Indian defence reports, more than 70 militants were killed and over 60 others injured in the strikes, which targeted training camps, launch pads, and communication hubs.
However, Pakistan claimed that 26 civilians, including women and a child, were killed in the early morning strikes and 46 others were wounded.
Among the dead, Jaish-e-Mohammed confirmed that 10 members of its chief Masood Azhar’s family and four close aides had been killed at the Subhan Allah Mosque in Bahawalpur.
Hours later, Pakistan retaliated by shelling Indian border villages.
Indian authorities said at least 10 civilians were killed and 47 injured in heavy firing and artillery shelling along the Line of Control and the International Border.
Pakistan also claimed it shot down five Indian aircraft during the response, a claim the Indian Air Force has denied.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours have escalated following the Pahalgam killings, with both sides exchanging accusations and military threats.
While India maintains its strikes were focused and non-escalatory, as claimed in a statement by Indian authorities, targeting only militant infrastructure, Islamabad has called the action an ‘act of war’.
