Tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply escalated following India’s launch of “Operation Sindoor,” a series of targeted airstrikes on what New Delhi described as “terrorist infrastructure” located in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes were carried out in response to the deadly April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. The situation now risks triggering the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in years.

According to an official statement by the Indian government, the airstrikes targeted at least nine sites early on May 7, Wednesday morning. Indian officials emphasized that their operations were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” claiming that no Pakistani military facilities or civilian centers were attacked. Instead, the focus was on militant camps that New Delhi holds responsible for aiding cross-border terrorism.

“Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military establishment have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” read the government’s statement.

Among the key targets was the Masjid wa Markaz Taiba mosque complex in Muridke, near Lahore, reportedly an ideological and operational hub for the Lashkar-e-Taiba group.

Pakistan reacted swiftly and fiercely. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the strikes as a “cowardly attack” and described them as an “act of war” imposed by India. In a televised address, Sharif declared, “Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a........

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