India carried out its deepest strikes inside Pakistan’s undisputed territory since 1971, according to CNN, successfully targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
This marks New Delhi’s most significant military action within Pakistani territory in over five decades, news agency ANI said.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, with the mobilisation of assets and troops using special precision munitions in a coordinated operation, sources told ANI.
The strikes were carried out to avenge the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks in India, the news agency said.
These strikes came after days of escalated tensions and downgraded diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack. Of the nine locations, four were located within Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Pakistan military’s media arm, Inter-Services Public Relations, said India has “struck three places from the air” – Bhawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab Province as well as Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Muridke is the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is believed to be behind the Pahalgam attack, and Bahawalpur is the base of the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Indian forces carefully selected the targets to go after senior terrorist leadership, according to sources cited by ANI. Officials stressed that the mission was focused, measured, and non-escalatory, and specifically avoided Pakistani military installations. The strikes, executed from within Indian airspace, reflected restraint in both targeting and execution.
The Ministry of Defence, in its statement, said, “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.”
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the statement added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was constantly monitoring Operation Sindoor throughout the night, sources confirmed to ANI.