MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. The Indian Defense Ministry reported that overnight on May 7, its armed forces launched Operation Sindoor and carried out strikes on nine targets in Pakistan.
The military agency noted that the strikes were "targeting the roots of cross-border terror planning." According to the Samaa TV channel, Pakistan has closed its airspace for 48 hours and carried out retaliatory strikes.
TASS has compiled key facts about the situation.
Operation Sindoor and Pakistan’s response
- According to the Indian Defense Ministry, overnight on May 7, the armed forces started Operation Sindoor and delivered strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and the Pakistan-administered part of Jammu and Kashmir union territory.
- It noted that the strikes were "targeting the roots of cross-border terror planning."
- The ministry stressed that not a single Pakistani military facility was targeted.
- India had intelligence about new terror attacks from Pakistan being plotted and by initiating Operation Sindoor, used its right to preempt them, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri asserted.
- India named nine terrorist camps attacked within the framework of Operation Sindoor. The list was published by the PTI agency.
- The list includes the camps of terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur, Muzaffarabad, Sarjal and Kotli, Lashkar-e-Taiba (outlawed in Russia) in Muridke, Barnala and Muzaffarabad, and Hizbul Mujahideen in Sialkot and Kotli.
- During the operation, 17 terrorists were eliminated and 60 wounded, the News18 TV channel reported. According to the Pakistani armed forces, 26 individuals were killed and 46 injured.
- According to the Samaa TV channel, Pakistan sealed its airspace for 48 hours and delivered retaliatory strikes.
- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted that Pakistan has the right to carry out retaliatory actions.
- Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that the Indian armed forces delivered strikes on civilians.
- He also stated that Pakistan will not escalate tensions in the conflict with India if it halts Operation Sindoor and other aggressive actions.
- According to the Pakistani armed forces, five Indian fighter planes were downed.
- In turn, Pakistani Defense Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry noted that Pakistan’s air force had not lost a single aircraft. He stressed that all downed planes were in India’s airspace.
- The number of victims of a Pakistani shelling attack at the Line of Control in India’s Jammu and Kashmir union territory had climbed to ten with 48 wounded, Reuters reported, citing local police.
International reaction
- China’s Foreign Ministry has urged India and Pakistan to avoid actions triggering any escalation.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate phone conversations on Tuesday with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Pakistani Director-General of Inter-Service Intelligence Muhammad Asim Malik. He called on the sides to keep the lines of communication open and avoid escalation.
- The United Arab Emirates called on India and Pakistan to display restraint, preventing the conflict’s potential escalation which may threaten regional security.
- Russia is deeply concerned by the intensifying military confrontation between India and Pakistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The agency urged restraint on all sides of the conflict in order to prevent the further deterioration of the situation in the region.
Causes of escalation
- Indian-Pakistani relations deteriorated following the April 22 terrorist attack in the town of Pahalgam in India’s Jammu and Kashmir union territory where 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese national were killed.
- India claimed that it has proof that the attack was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba group of Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence. New Delhi and Islamabad introduced reciprocal restrictive measures with regard to diplomatic workers, suspended any bilateral ties and closed their airspace for each other’s planes.