The Indian military launched a series of airstrikes against Pakistan on Wednesday night, targeting what it described as "terrorist infrastructure" in a bid to disrupt the militant networks believed to be responsible for a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
According to Indian officials, the strikes were carried out in a "focused, measured and non-escalatory" manner, and did not involve any Pakistani military facilities. The exact locations of the targeted sites were not disclosed, but Indian officials said they had been carefully selected to minimize the risk of civilian casualties.
Pakistan, however, has a starkly different account of the incident. Islamabad claimed that India launched a "cowardly attack" on six sites, and accused New Delhi of attempting to provoke a response from the Pakistani military. Pakistani officials said that 26 people had been killed and 46 injured in the strikes and subsequent artillery shelling along the de-facto border between the two countries.
India, on the other hand, reported 10 deaths and 32 injuries in Indian-administered Kashmir, while claiming to have "no reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan". The conflicting accounts have raised concerns about the true extent of the damage inflicted by the strikes.
The move comes as tensions between India and Pakistan have continued to escalate since a militant attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, last month. Indian officials have claimed to have found links between the attackers and Pakistan, a charge Islamabad has strongly denied. A manhunt by security forces is still under way to track down the perpetrators.
In the wake of the strike, troops from both sides have traded small arms fire along the border, while India and Pakistan have also announced a range of retaliatory measures against each other, including the closure of borders and suspension of a river water treaty. The situation remains volatile, with both sides warning of further consequences if the other does not comply with their demands.