Several casualties have been reported after India announced that it fired missiles into several areas of Pakistan-controlled territory on May 7, including the divided Kashmir region.
“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,” a statement from the Indian government said.
That statement came around 4:45 p.m. ET on May 6, though it was the early morning hours in India when the military action began.
“Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature,” it said. “No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”
These strikes hit several locations across Pakistan. Since then, the fighting has expanded, with shelling along the border and reported aerial battles increasing the casualty count.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif, the Pakistani military’s spokesperson, said at least 31 civilians had been killed since the fighting began. 26 of those were killed in the initial Indian missile strikes, Sharif said, while the other five were killed along the Line of Control from shelling.
One of the places reportedly struck in the initial strike was a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab. Pakistani officials said that 13 were killed in the strike, including women and children.
In response, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a national security committee meeting and called India’s air strike an act of war.
“Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,” he said in a statement.
“The Pakistani nation and the Pakistan Armed Forces know very well how to deal with the enemy,” he said. “We will never let the enemy succeed in its nefarious objectives.”
Shortly after that statement, the Indian army released a statement saying that Pakistan fired artillery into India-controlled Kashmir, stating that Indian forces were “responding appropriately in a calibrated manner.”
By around 1:00 a.m. ET, Indian police said at least seven civilians had been killed and 30 others wounded in the Pakistani firing and shelling, including at least one woman.
Around 1:30 a.m., Sharif announced that Pakistan’s air force had shot down five Indian fighter jets.
“Pakistan is responding to the Indian aggression,” he said.
India’s embassy in the United States announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been briefed on the situation.
In a statement, the embassy said that India’s actions “were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani civilian, economic, or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted.”
This action came amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries after 26 male tourists were killed in a terrorist attack in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir in April. India has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, which Pakistani authorities have denied, and vowed to respond.
According to Reuters, Pakistan said that it had intelligence saying India was planning to attack.
President Donald Trump said that the airstrikes were a shame, acknowledging that the two nations have been fighting each other for a long time, and expressed his hope that the conflict “ends very quickly.”
Rubio called Sharif and India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on April 30 to urge the two nations to de-escalate tensions in Kashmir.
In a statement, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said: “The secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism.
“He also encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.”
Following the call, Jaishankar wrote on X on May 1: “Discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack with Secretary Rubio yesterday. Its perpetrators, backers, and planners must be brought to justice.”
After the strike, the Indian army said in a post on X, “Justice is served.”
The escalating conflict has also drawn the attention of the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, is calling for restraint.
“The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the statement read.
—Joseph Lord, TJ Muscaro
BOOKMARKS
The Supreme Court ruled on May 6 that Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops in the military will be allowed to stand, at least while the justices consider the legal challenges against it. The High Court’s ruling on Tuesday supersedes a lower court order that halted the March ban.
Citing recent safety issues, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he is planning major changes that will “radically transform” America’s air traffic control system. “We’re going to build a brand new air traffic control system—from new telecom to new radars to new infrastructure,” Duffy said.
Travelers who have not yet gotten a REAL ID can still fly, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on May 6. However, she warned that they “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” when attempting to use their old identification.
The House of Representatives voted on Monday to pass the Falun Gong Protection Act by voice vote, with no objections. The law would impose sanctions on those “who the president determines to have knowingly and directly engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting of organs within the People’s Republic of China.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that it had seized 3 million fentanyl pills as part of the largest fentanyl bust in U.S. history. The operation, which targeted the Sinaloa Cartel, also netted $5 million in cash, 49 firearms, and multiple kilos of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
—Stacy Robinson
