Pakistan missile strike on India: Five fatalities reported

    
• Pakistan launched missiles towards India, targeting more than 25 military sites, including air bases and weapon stockpiles in the states of Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan, as well as in Indian-administered Kashmir.
• India responded to the attacks, claiming to have destroyed drones and other missiles launched by Pakistan, and also accused its neighbor of targeting civilian medical and educational facilities.
• The Pakistani defense minister reported on Saturday that no meeting of the highest military and civilian authority overseeing the country’s nuclear arsenal was planned.

Pakistan accuses India of provocations, including attacks on air bases in Pakistan. In response, Pakistan launched missiles towards India. Indian police reported on Saturday that at least five people were killed in the city of Jammu due to Pakistani military shelling.

The Pakistani military published footage of the attack on their official profile on the X platform. The operation was named "Bunyanul Marsoos." This is an Arabic expression that directly translates to "construction of lead," according to Al Jazeera. These words come from the Quran.

The Indian government communicated that attacks are occurring in Punjab in the northwest of the country and along the so-called Line of Control, which divides territories administered by both countries in the disputed Kashmir region.

India claims to have destroyed drones and other missiles launched by Pakistan, and also accuses its neighbor of targeting civilian medical and educational facilities.

The Pakistani defense minister reported on Saturday that no meeting of the highest military and civilian authority overseeing the country’s nuclear arsenal was planned.

Reuters notes that it was Pakistani military officials who previously informed that the Prime Minister had called for such a meeting.

The conflict between India and Pakistan began in 1947, following the partition of British India into two independent states: India, predominantly Hindu, and Pakistan, predominantly Muslim. The partition, hastily conducted by British colonial authorities, triggered massive migrations (about 10-14 million people) and bloody clashes among Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, in which between 200,000 and 2 million people were killed. The main point of contention became the region of Kashmir, divided between the two countries by the so-called Line of Control (LoC), which remains one of the most militarized regions in the world.

Kashmir, mostly populated by Muslims but ruled by Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, became a flashpoint when Pashtun tribesmen supported by Pakistan invaded in 1947, prompting the Maharaja to sign an act of accession to India. This sparked the First Indo-Pakistani War (1947–1948), ending with a ceasefire and the division of Kashmir that satisfied neither side.

Subsequent wars occurred in 1965 (the Second Kashmir War) and in 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) after India intervened, supporting Bengali separatists. The conflict in Kargil in 1999, although limited, was the last major military engagement. Since then, tensions have been fueled by terrorist attacks, accusations of supporting separatists (particularly Pakistan by India), and disputes over water resources regulated by the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. Both sides possess nuclear weapons, raising the stakes of any conflict.

        
• 1947–1948: The First Indo-Pakistani War over Kashmir; establishment of the Line of Control.
• 1965: The Second Indo-Pakistani War; no significant territorial changes.
• 1971: The Third Indo-Pakistani War; creation of Bangladesh.
• 1999: Kargil Conflict; limited engagement in Kashmir.
• 2016 and 2019: Terrorist attacks in Uri and Pulwama, followed by limited military operations by India in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.

      
• April 22–23, 2025: A terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in the Indian part of Kashmir. Twenty-six tourists were killed, including 25 Indians and a Nepalese guide. India accused Pakistan of supporting the perpetrators, linked to The Resistance Front group, allegedly associated with Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan denied the allegations and proposed a neutral investigation. The attack stirred outrage in India and nationalist calls for retaliation.
• April 23, 2025: India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which Pakistan regarded as an "act of war." This decision threatened water supplies for Pakistani agriculture, which depends 80% on rivers controlled by India (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab). Pakistan closed its airspace to India, halted trade, and expelled Indian nationals.
• April 28, 2025: India accused Pakistani soldiers of "unprovoked firing" with personal weapons along the Line of Control. The Indian army returned fire. Pakistan did not comment on the incident but reported the elimination of 54 militants attempting to cross the border from Afghanistan.
• May 6–7, 2025: India launched Operation "Sindoor," conducting missile and air strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, described as "terrorist infrastructure." Pakistan reported 36 killed and 94 injured, claiming to have shot down five Indian planes (three Rafale, one Su-30, one MiG-29) in Indian airspace. India confirmed the downing of three of its own fighters but denied Pakistani losses. India reported seven civilian casualties and 35 injured due to Pakistani retaliatory shelling. US President Donald Trump expressed hope for a quick resolution of the conflict, and the US State Department monitored the situation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged both sides to engage in dialogue.

Source: Sky News, Reuters, PAP, AP