Kathmandu. 15 days after the Pahalgam attack, the Indian government has launched a missile attack on Pakistan. According to the Indian army, the missile attack was carried out targeting terrorist areas in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The Indian army has named this attack ‘Operation Sindoor’.
In a statement issued by the Indian government, it was said, ‘This operation targeted terrorist structures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, from where terrorist attacks on India were planned and executed.’ According to the Indian online The Bhaskar, India has targeted terrorists in Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Gulpur, Kotli, Bhimber, Sialkot, Muridke, Chak Amru and Bahawalpur, killing 30 people.
According to the Reuters news agency, there have been reports of shelling and explosions in the border areas of Pakistan.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since the attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. 26 people, including a Nepali, were killed in the attack. India has accused Pakistan of supporting the terrorist attack and violating the ceasefire agreement. The Indian Army wrote on its X account – Pakistan has once again violated the ceasefire agreement. The Indian Army is responding appropriately. Although India is said to have attacked nine places, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif wrote on his X account that five places were attacked.
Women and children also killed
The Kashmir region has become restless after the missile attack. Women and children have been affected. Photo: AFP
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has denied India’s allegations and said that India will give a befitting reply to the attack. He wrote on his social media X account, ‘India has cowardly attacked five places in Pakistan. Pakistan has every right to give a strong response to this act of war and it is being given a response.’ He also mentioned that the entire people of Pakistan stand united with the Pakistani army and the morale of the country is high.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan said, ‘Pakistan and the Pakistani army know how to deal with the enemy. We will never allow the enemy to succeed in its objective.’
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that although India had advertised that it had attacked a terrorist hideout, it had attacked a civilian settlement. Stating that a woman and a child were also killed in the Indian attack, he also requested the international media to come and see the scene.
He said, ‘They (India) have claimed that they have targeted terrorist hideouts. I request the international media to come and see for themselves whether they were terrorist hideouts or civilian settlements. We also had two mosques in those places. One child has been martyred, one woman has been martyred. I do not have an update on the death toll at the moment. But of these seven confirmed targets, two are in Kashmir and five are in Pakistan. All these targets were in civilian areas.’
What did the witnesses say?
In an interview with the BBC, some witnesses described the current situation at the sites of the attacks. Shahnawaz, a resident of Muzaffarabad, said, ‘We were fast asleep in our houses when the sudden sound of the explosion woke us up. Now we are outside with our families, women and children and are looking for safe places.’ According to him, there is an atmosphere of panic in the city. They are afraid that more attacks may happen. Mohammad Wahid, a resident of the area where the attack took place near the Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, said that the first explosion shook his house while he was fast asleep. He said, ‘I immediately ran outside. I saw others coming out. Before we could understand what was happening, three more missiles fell, which spread panic in the entire area.’ According to Wahid, dozens of women and men were injured in the attack.
US President says ‘shameful’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has described India’s attack on Pakistan as ‘shameful’. ‘We just found out about this, as we were entering the Oval Office,’ Trump told reporters at the White House. ‘I just want this, it’s shameful. Let this (fighting) end soon.’
A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. Expressing concern over Indian military action along the Line of Control and the international border, he said, ‘The Secretary-General has called on both countries to exercise maximum restraint. The world cannot afford another India-Pakistan military confrontation.
Schools closed in Pakistan’s Punjab province after airstrikes, exams postponed
Kathmandu. Schools have been closed in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The province’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the closure of educational institutions across the province in the interest of public safety. According to Al Jazeera, Sharif said that exams in universities and colleges will also be postponed, but exams conducted by international examination boards will remain as usual. The situation has become tense after the Indian government launched a missile attack on Pakistan 15 days after the Pahalgam attack.
The attack, which India has dubbed ‘Operation Sindoor’, was carried out byReports of civilians from both countries, including a girl, have started coming in. According to the news agency Reuters, there have been reports of shelling and explosions in the border areas of Pakistan. Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. 26 people, including a Nepali, were killed in the attack. India has accused Pakistan of supporting the terrorist attack and violating the ceasefire agreement.
