World Calls For Calm As War Is Sparked In India-Pakistan Border Dispute

At nearly 2:00 a.m. on May 7 local time in Delhi, India's armed forces announced that it had fired missiles on Pakistani cities and parts of Kashmir and Pammu, which are currently occupied by Pakistan. This was India's deepest attack on Pakistan since 1971.

Multiple explosions were heard in Pakistan and Kashmir. According to Geo News, Pakistani Lt Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that missiles struck the cities of Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh, Muzaffarabad and Kotli. He said there were three confirmed deaths and more than a dozen injured. Pakistani has vowed to exact retribution. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said his country “has every right” to respond.

According to the Indian Defense Ministry, its forces commenced "Operation Sindoor", targetting nine sites in Pakistan. A statement claimed the India was “hitting terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.” A blast has also been reportedly heard at Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. 

"Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution," the statement read. The strike came in the aftermath of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, where 26 vacationers were killed. India then blamed Pakistan, finding links to the Muslim nation. Both India and Pakistan are believed to have nuclear weapons. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings.

Both India and Pakistan have taken measures against each other since the attack. 

"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," read the statement from the Indian Defense Ministry. Altogether, nine sites have been targeted. Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of tarets and method of execution. These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable."

Since the missile attack in Pakistan, at least three Indian air force jets were downed, possibly by Pakistani armed forces.  

Pakistan has closed airspace around Lahore, in the country’s north, and Karachi, on the coast. Indian airline IndiGo reported flights in and out of Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala and Bikaner have been impacted. SpiceJet airline reported that some airports in northern India are closed “until further notice.”

Kashmir is a region that is controlled in part by India and Pakistan, even while both countries claim it entirely. The two countries have fought three wars over the mountainous territory. 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the April terrorist attack in Kashmir, and urged India and Pakistan to “avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control.” He said on X, “Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution.” Guterres wrote that tensions between the two countries are “at their highest in years.”

President Donald Trump said on the evening of April 6 in Washington DC, “It’s a shame. We just heard about it, just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval, just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past, they’ve been fighting for a long time, you know, they’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries.” He said. “I just hope it ends very quickly.” 

“They were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature,” the Embassy of India said in a statement. “No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted.”