A shadow has fallen over the already tense relationship between India and Pakistan, as recent events seem to have dramatically reshaped how the world views the actions of both nations. Many observers point to a significant, perhaps lasting, blow to India’s carefully crafted international image. What is being described is not a distant military skirmish, but a series of unprovoked missile strikes launched by India, reportedly under Narendra Modi’s leadership, that struck deep into Pakistani territory.

According to reports, these weren’t aimed at military installations but rained down on places where ordinary people lived, prayed, and went about their daily lives—in cities like Sialkot, Shakargarh, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad. From this perspective, these acts felt less like strategic manoeuvres and more like the desperate lashing out of a regime, perhaps feeling the heat of its internal pressures.

The stories emerging paint a devastating picture of human loss stemming from India’s alleged actions, with initial reports indicating a heartbreaking toll of 26 civilian lives lost across these attacks. It’s hard to comprehend the scene in Ahmedpur East, which bore a significant brunt of this tragedy, where an Indian missile reportedly violated the sacred space of Masjid Subhanullah. Eighteen innocent lives were tragically extinguished there – among them, heartbreakingly, the reports specify two little girls, barely three years old, and numerous other women and men whose families are now left to grieve.

In the ensuing chaos and sorrow, another thirty-seven people were left injured, many of them women and the elderly who should have found safety within their community. Similar accounts of terror and loss have come from Muzaffarabad, where Masjid Bilal was said to have been hit, resulting in three deaths. In Kotli, Masjid Abbas reportedly became a scene of tragedy, with a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy losing their lives. Even in moments of quiet prayer, there was no sanctuary, as three men were allegedly killed mid-supplication in Muridke’s Masjid Ummul Qura.

Compounding these alleged attacks on human life, India is also........

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