India and Pakistan stand at the threshold of a potentially wider conflict as tensions intensify.
India carried out military strikes against Pakistan on Wednesday, prompting Islamabad to claim it had downed five Indian Air Force jets—a dramatic escalation that has brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors to the edge of a broader conflict.
The situation has entered a perilous phase, with Pakistan vowing to retaliate for the strikes, even as the international community urges both sides to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.
What happened during India’s strikes?
India launched "Operation Sindoor" in the early hours of Wednesday local time (Tuesday night ET), targeting locations in both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
According to Indian officials, nine sites linked to the militant groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed were struck in a 25-minute operation. They emphasized that no Pakistani civilian, economic, or military infrastructure was targeted, framing the strikes as focused solely on “terrorist infrastructure.”
The operation’s name, Sindoor, appears to reference the traditional red powder worn by many married Hindu women. Its symbolism may be linked to the April massacre of Indian tourists, where mostly men were killed, leaving several women widowed.
Pakistan, however, has offered a sharply contrasting account. Officials there claim civilians were killed and mosques damaged, though these claims have not yet been independently verified by CNN.
A spokesperson for Pakistan’s military reported that 24 strikes hit six locations, including parts of the densely populated Punjab province. They described the operation as India’s deepest incursion into Pakistani territory since the 1971 war, one of four fought between the two nations.
How did Pakistan respond?
Pakistani security sources claimed their forces shot down five Indian Air Force jets and one drone during India’s strikes. They did not provide details on the locations or methods used but said three of the downed aircraft were Rafale jets—advanced fighters India purchased from France in recent years.
India has not acknowledged the loss of any aircraft, and CNN has not independently verified the claims. The Indian government and military have been contacted for comment.
Separately, an eyewitness and a local official reported that an unidentified aircraft crashed in the village of Wuyan in Indian-administered Kashmir. Photographs published by AFP showed debris from the aircraft near a red-brick building, though the origin of the wreckage has not been confirmed.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called India’s actions an “act of war,” stating that Pakistan “has every right” to respond. Following an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), Sharif urged the country’s armed forces to “avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives.”
What’s happening on the ground?
Both sides exchanged gunfire and shelling across the Line of Control (LoC)—the de facto border dividing Kashmir—throughout Wednesday.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, local authorities have ordered evacuations from high-risk areas, promising shelter, food, and medical assistance for affected residents.
Air traffic in the region has also been severely disrupted. Pakistan has closed portions of its airspace, prompting several major international airlines to reroute flights to avoid the region. Indian carriers have reported delays and airport closures, particularly in the country's northern regions.
What sparked the conflict? What is Kashmir?
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been at the heart of tensions between India and Pakistan since the two countries gained independence from British rule in 1947.
Following the bloody partition that created Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, both nations laid claim to Kashmir in its entirety. Just months after independence, they fought the first of three wars over the region.
Today, Kashmir remains one of the most heavily militarized zones in the world, divided between Indian and Pakistani administration but still fiercely contested by both sides.
What could happen next?
The three previous wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir have been devastating. The most recent, in 1999, resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand Pakistani soldiers, even by the most conservative estimates.
In the years since, the region has remained volatile. Militants have waged ongoing attacks against Indian forces in Kashmir, contributing to a death toll in the tens of thousands. India and Pakistan have engaged in multiple skirmishes, including a major flare-up in 2019, when India launched airstrikes inside Pakistan in response to a deadly suicide bombing it blamed on Islamabad.
While those confrontations stopped short of full-scale war, the threat of escalation remains ever-present. Both nations are acutely aware of the consequences—since 1999, each has significantly bolstered its military capabilities, including the expansion of nuclear arsenals.
How is the world responding?
India’s strikes have sparked global concern, with international leaders urging both New Delhi and Islamabad to avoid further escalation.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern,” emphasizing that the world “cannot afford a military confrontation” between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The United States, which had previously called for restraint from both sides, said it is “closely monitoring developments.” A State Department spokesperson noted, “We are aware of the reports; however, we have no assessment to offer at this time. This remains an evolving situation.”
Several other countries—including the United Arab Emirates, China, and Japan—have also urged both India and Pakistan to de-escalate the situation.
Meanwhile, a senior Indian government official told CNN that New Delhi has briefed key international partners—including the U.S., UAE, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Russia—on its actions and the reasoning behind them.
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