by Leonid Savin
| A bad headline, since it was Pakistan who started the war by sending in their jihadis to commit an atrocity on specifically Hindu Indian civilians. |
A press release from the Indian Ministry of Defence issued immediately after the attack (the document is dated 01:44 a.m.) said the armed forces "conducted Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir… Nine targets were hit…
The action was targeted and non-escalatory… Pakistani military installations were not affected… This was in response to the barbaric terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 25 Indians and one Nepalese citizen were killed.”
In response, the Pakistani Air Force was put on alert and artillery shelling began on Indian military deployment points in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to initial reports from the Pakistani side, they managed to shoot down three Rafale fighters of the Indian Air Force. Later, it was reported that in addition to the Rafales, a Su-30, a MiG-29 and a Heron attack drone were shot down.
In addition, it was said that the headquarters of the Indian armed forces brigade in Kashmir had been destroyed, and Indian strongholds where white flags had been displayed had been destroyed on the Line of Control (there is no official border, since both sides do not recognize each other's territorial claims).
It is worth noting that a few days before the incident, it became known that China had delivered a large batch of PL-15 air-to-air missiles to Pakistan, which were installed on JF-17 aircraft, and the squadrons were put on combat alert. The range of these missiles is 300 km. They were probably used to destroy the Indian aircraft.
As for the victims, Pakistan reported 31 killed and about 50 wounded. In Muzaffarabad, in Kashmir, an Indian missile destroyed a mosque and a madrassa.
It is significant that Indian media quoted Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed organization, which is based in Kashmir and is known for its anti-Indian activities. According to him, his wife, elder sister and her husband, and other relatives, ten people in all, were killed after the Indian missile attack.
If from India's point of view the operation was directed against terrorists, and this organization is such for India, then the position justifying selective strikes that kill civilians, possibly even those associated with the leaders of a radical organization, looks strange. Especially since the leader himself remained alive.
Most likely, the Indian military was trying to copy the methods of the Israelis, who often use targeted attacks against senior figures in the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance.
But in this case it looks like a clear failure, although the Indian side cites the names of the militant training camps that were allegedly hit.
In Pakistan, this version was immediately rejected, saying that international observers and journalists had previously visited these places and they did not see any “terrorist bases” there.
A similar incident occurred in 2019, when a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir was followed by strikes in Pakistani Kashmir.
However, now the attack has also hit areas within Pakistan's internationally recognised borders - Muridke, Bahawalpur and Sialkot. Pakistani authorities have therefore immediately accused India of aggression.
On the Indian side, 12 people were killed and about three dozen were injured. There were no reports of damage, but the loss of several aircraft was confirmed.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and cancelled foreign visits planned for next week.
Civil defense exercises were held in states bordering Pakistan. Apparently, New Delhi was expecting a massive retaliatory strike from Pakistan.
Pakistan also held a National Security Council meeting, where the military was given free rein to use force. Pakistan's leadership declared its right to invoke Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right to self-defense.
President Asif Ali Zardari, among others, said that an appropriate response would be given. Pakistan's representative to the UN also briefed the Security Council on the details of the incident.
The Islamabad airport has been temporarily closed, with all flights diverted to Karachi. Some foreign airlines have suspended flights to Pakistan and have begun to bypass its territory. All airports in northern India have also been closed until May 10.
While this is not the first time that the two countries have had military conflicts and exchanges of blows, the current situation is somewhat different. It is reminiscent of the missile and drone exchanges between Israel and Iran in 2024, which, despite years of tension, did not escalate into a full-scale war.
Despite the good ties between the countries and the personal friendship between Narendra Modi and Donald Trump, it appears that the White House will not be supportive. The US has already called for de-escalation, and Trump has simply brushed off the issue in his comments, although he did call for a ceasefire on May 7.
India also cannot count on another proven military partner, Israel, since the Netanyahu regime is currently busy preparing a new large-scale operation against the Gaza Strip.
So it is unlikely that New Delhi will receive military assistance from these two countries.
India is also putting its credibility at risk in the Muslim-majority Global South, as criticism of the Modi government grows.
Pakistan's behavior looks more rational. At the same time, it can fully count on military-technical assistance from, at a minimum, China and Turkey. Not to mention the financial and diplomatic support of a number of monarchies in the Middle East.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir 's visit to New Delhi on May 8 may be aimed at brokering a ceasefire. His Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi is also in India.
Moreover, India's actions have united Pakistan's political parties, and while some continue to call for the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, there is unanimity on India's part to continue the fight.
At the same time, secret Indian documents were leaked. The first talks about India's unpreparedness to wage a conventional war due to low morale among its troops and the vulnerability of both civilian and military infrastructure. It was signed on April 26 but was leaked to the public two days later.
The second appeared on May 1 and is of more serious interest, as it could be interpreted as a guide to organizing a terrorist attack against Pakistan's own citizens with the aim of subsequently blaming Pakistan.
The leaks show that deep within the Indian establishment there are clear opponents of the current military escalation in particular and Modi's policies in general.
On the morning of May 8, a number of Indian media outlets began to claim that Amritsar, where the sacred Sikh temple is located, had been hit by a missile attack from Pakistan. However, no confirmation of this has yet been provided.
Pakistan once again denied the accusations, although it had previously warned of an imminent response.