India carried out multiple strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, early on Wednesday, as part of "Operation Sindoor". The strikes were a direct retaliation for the terror attack that took place in Pahalgam Kashmir on April 22, and led to the deaths of 26 civilians.
The Indian armed forces reportedly hit nine targets linked to Pakistan-based terror groups. The targets included multiple strongholds of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Sources say that among the JeM targets were Markaz Subhan Allah at Bahawalpur, Sarjal at Tehra Kalan, Markaz Abbas in Kotli and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad.
The LeT bases hit were Markaz Taiba at Murdike, Markaz Ahle Hadith at Barnala and Shwawai Nalla camp at Muzaffarabad.
Makaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot were the Hizbul Mujahideen strongholds targeted.
At 1:44 AM on Wednesday, the Indian Defence Ministry released a statement saying, "A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched 'Operation Sindoor' hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed."
The Defence Ministry added that the actions by the Indian armed forces have been "focused, measured and non-escalatory" in nature, and that no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. It said, "India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution."
The name for the military operation, Operation Sindoor, is a reference to the red vermillion that Hindu women wear to signify their married status. In the Pahalgam terror attack, the husbands of several women were killed in front of them.
The terror attack triggered widespread outrage in India and abroad, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to deal a "crushing blow to terrorism".
Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that missile strikes were carried out by India at Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Bahawalpur in Punjab.
"All of our air force jets are airborne. This cowardly and shameful attack was carried out from within India's airspace. They were never allowed to come and intrude into the space of Pakistan," he said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has every right to give a "befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India." "The Pakistani nation and the Pakistani armed forces know how to deal with the enemy very well," he said.
The Pakistan foreign ministry condemned India's action.
"In an unprovoked and blatant act of war, the Indian Air Force, while remaining within Indian airspace, has violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons, targeting the civilian population across the international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across the Line of Control in Kotli and Muzaffarabad," it said.
It claimed India's "act of aggression" has resulted in the death of civilians, adding "Pakistan reserves the right to respond appropriately at a time and place of its choosing."
Pakistan has proceeded to bombarded dozens of forward villages with artillery and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, according to Indian officials. At least seven people, including a woman and two children, have been killed and 38 others injured due to the Pakistani shelling on Wednesday.
The Indian Army says it is responding to the shelling in equal measure. Sources in the Indian military establishment said all air defence units have been put on alert along the frontier with Pakistan.
Following Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army said on 'X': "Justice is Served." After the operation, India reached out to several leading countries, including the US, Russia, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and briefed them about the military strike on the nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, the sources said.
"Senior Indian officials have spoken to their counterparts in a number of countries to brief them on the steps taken by India," said a source.
"Among these are the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Russia," it said.
The operation came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the armed forces full freedom to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, PM Modi gave the armed forces "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of the response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HOOK Desk and is published from a syndicated feed PTI.)
