Agencies

The Pakistan military claims it shot down five Indian fighter jets, and damaged two army outposts in retaliatory strikes against the killing of at least eight Pakistanis by Indian air force.

Overnight on Wednesday, India launched missiles at several locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administred Kashmir, the government said, and Pakistan promised to respond to the attacks.

Pakistan’s military said a hydropower plant on its side of the Kashmir border was damaged in early morning strikes by India on Wednesday.

Several explosions were heard in the city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday. The missiles were fired from Indian territory and Indian forces did not violate Pakistani airspace, Pak officials said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply between the two nuclear-powered neighbouring South Asian nations following the attack.

Pakistan confirmed the attacks and vowed military retaliation, reporting at least three civilian casualties.

In a statement issued by India’s Press Information Bureau at 1:44am IST, the operation, codenamed Operation Sindoor, was said to target nine sites used to plan and direct attacks against India.

The statement claimed the action was in response to the recent deadly assault in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that left 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen dead. Indian authorities stressed that the strikes were “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” and that no Pakistani military facilities were hit.

Pakistan, however, offered a sharply contrasting version. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry called the strikes “cowardly” and confirmed that three civilians were killed and 12 injured in air strikes targeting Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh, and Muzaffarabad.

Speaking on ARY News shortly after 1am Pakistan time, he said the Indian airstrikes hit sites including a mosque in Bahawalpur. He asserted that all Pakistani air force jets were airborne and that “retaliation was already under way.”

“This heinous provocation will not go unanswered,” Chaudhry said, warning that Pakistan would respond “at a time and place of its own choosing.”

The developments follow heightened hostilities after the Pahalgam incident, which India attributes to groups operating from across the border.