Islamabad accuses India of violating its sovereignty and vows to respond, as tensions spike following deadly cross-border attacks.
Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned a series of Indian airstrikes that struck targets across its territory overnight, describing them as a “flagrant and unprovoked act of war.” The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the attacks killed civilians and vowed that Islamabad would respond “at a time and place of its choosing.”
“In a flagrant and unprovoked act of war, the Indian Air Force, remaining within Indian airspace, violated Pakistan’s sovereignty using stand-off weapons and targeting civilian populations,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, the strikes hit areas “across the international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across the Line of Control in Kotli and Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” resulting in civilian casualties.
The statement called India’s actions a “cowardly act” and a gross violation of the United Nations Charter and international law. It warned that the strikes had brought “two nuclear-armed states dangerously close to a large-scale conflict.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee on Wednesday morning to assess possible responses to the Indian operation. Local officials in Pakistan-administered Kashmir reported that at least two civilians were killed in the strikes, which reportedly hit residential areas.
India had earlier confirmed launching precision strikes shortly after midnight on Wednesday against nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. According to Indian authorities, the sites were being used by terrorist groups responsible for planning attacks against India.
The Indian military operation comes two weeks after a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people. New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the attack, a claim Pakistan has consistently denied.
The escalating crisis has triggered a wave of retaliatory measures on both sides, including the expulsion of diplomats, cancellation of visas, and the closure of border crossings. In a significant move, India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty — a 1960 agreement that has withstood several wars between the two neighbors.
India had previously warned of a strong response to the Pahalgam attack, and Wednesday’s airstrikes appear to be the fulfillment of that pledge.
While Islamabad has repeatedly called for dialogue and an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, it maintains that although it will not initiate conflict, it is fully prepared to retaliate if provoked.
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