Demonstrators burn an effigy during an anti-India protest following India’s military strikes on Pakistan, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Yasir Rajput
Pakistan said the assault by India had killed 26 people. India blames its neighbor and rival for a terrorist attack in the disputed region of Kashmir last month that also killed 26 people.
People in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad held placards and shouted anti Pakistan slogans to celebrate India’s military strikes on Pakistan. Reuters
Highlights
- India launched missiles at neighbor and rival Pakistan on Wednesday, dramatically escalating tensionsbetween the nuclear powers in what Pakistan called an “act of war.”
- Pakistan’s armed forces have been authorized to take “corresponding actions” following the strikes, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said today.
- The strikes took place two weeks after a terrorist attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in the Indian part of Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan claim in its entirety. India blames Pakistan for the attack, which Pakistan denies.
- Pakistan said 26 people were killed and 46 others were injured in strikes on six sites as well as firing along the Line of Control that divides the Indian- and Pakistan-controlled areas of Kashmir. India said it hit nine locations across the Pakistani province of Punjab and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Meanwhile in eastern India, members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party were celebrating the success of Operation Sindoor at the state BJP office in Bhubaneswar city by applying sindoor (red vermilion) on their foreheads.
Reaction
China “underscored Pakistan’s firm resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.” Jiang Zaidong, China’s ambassador to Pakistan, called on Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar today, the ministry said in a statement.
China said earlier today that it found India’s strikes on Pakistan “regrettable,” urging both sides to avoid escalation.
Beijing and Islamabad have “close and friendly relations.” Pakistan considers its ties with China as the “cornerstone” of its foreign policy.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that “we will defend our country,” stating no terrorist camps exist within its territory.
“Pakistan is a victim of terrorism,” Tarar told Sky News today. “As far as the current situation is ongoing, we are responding.”
“Now, be prepared. This nation will hold the enemy accountable for every single drop of its martyrs’ blood,” Tarar posted on X earlier today.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack last month, which caused the deaths of at least 26 people, and criticized the deaths caused by India’s attacks today.
Risk of an all out war
India’s overnight strikes raise the “risk of an all-out war,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement today, condemning “such provocative steps.”
Funeral prayers of people who were killed after a madrasa was hit by an Indian strike in Bahawalpur, Pakistan May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmood Zaheer
NBC/ Reuters