The Indian Armed Forces have launched a series of precision airstrikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, following a brutal attack that left 26 civilians dead, including a Nepali national, in the tourist town of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian government named the retaliatory operation “Operation Sindoor.”
According to a press release from India’s Ministry of Defence, nine terrorist sites were hit early Wednesday morning in what officials described as a “measured and non-escalatory” action. Indian officials emphasized that the strikes carefully avoided Pakistani military facilities, focusing solely on terrorist infrastructure used to plan and launch attacks against India.
The operation was triggered by the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, which authorities said was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist group based in Pakistan. The attackers, operating under the front organization known as The Resistance Front (TRF), allegedly targeted tourists to destabilize Jammu and Kashmir’s growing tourism industry, which last year attracted a record 23 million visitors.
In a detailed briefing, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the Pahalgam attack showed extreme cruelty, with victims reportedly shot at close range in front of family members. “The objective was to terrorize families, undermine peace in the region, and provoke communal discord,” Misri explained.
Despite India’s prior warnings to the international community about the activities of Pakistan-based terrorist groups, Misri said Pakistan has taken no meaningful steps to dismantle these organizations. “Instead, Pakistan continues to deny involvement and spread baseless allegations,” he said. Intelligence sources indicated that more attacks were being planned, leading India to act preemptively to “deter and disable” terrorist cells.
India defended the strikes as being in line with international expectations for holding terrorists and their sponsors accountable. Misri cited the United Nations Security Council’s statement from April 25, which called for the perpetrators and sponsors of the Pahalgam attack to be brought to justice.
The Indian government has pledged to provide a more detailed briefing on Operation Sindoor later this week. Meanwhile, international observers are watching closely to see whether tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors will escalate further.
This latest cross-border confrontation adds another chapter to the long history of conflict between India and Pakistan, particularly over the disputed Kashmir region — an area where both countries have fought multiple wars and where violence remains a persistent threat.
