2025 India–Pakistan conflict

 

2025 India–Pakistan conflict;

The 2025 India–Pakistan War was a short-lived armed confrontation between India and Pakistan, starting on 7 May 2025, following India's missile strikes on Pakistan, in a military operation code-named Operation Sindoor. India announced that the operation was a response to the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack on Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 civilians were killed. India blamed cross-border terrorism being supported by Pakistan, which Pakistan refuted.

On 7 May, India initiated Operation Sindoor with missile attacks on the terrorism-related infrastructure facilities of Pakistan-based militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and asserted that no Pakistani military or civilian installations were hit. According to Pakistan, the Indian attacks targeted civilian localities, including mosques. There were border clashes and drone attacks between the two countries after these strikes. Pakistan's military struck back on 7 May, by dropping a barrage of mortar shells into Jammu, killing 16 civilians and children, injuring 43 and burning hundreds of houses. This was the first drone war between the two nuclear powers. Pakistan's retaliatory fire hit civilian targets, including Hindu and Sikh places of worship, India's military declared.

In the early hours of 10 May, India accused Pakistan of launching missile attacks on Indian air bases including the Sirsa air base while Pakistan accused India of launching attacks on several Pakistan air bases, including Nur Khan, Rafiqi, and Murid. As conflict escalated on 10 May, Pakistan launched its operation codenamed Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, in which it said it had targeted several Indian military bases.

Following the four-day military fight, India as well as Pakistan declared a ceasefire had been mutually agreed upon after a hotline conversation between their DGMOs (Directors General of Military Operations) on 10 May 2025. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in lengthy correspondence with Indian as well as Pakistani officials during the negotiations. The ceasefire has been sustaining with commercial flights resumed and normalcy reported from both nations.

Background

The Kashmir dispute, which started in 1947, has driven several wars and conflicts between India and Pakistan regarding the occupied territory.

A militant terrorist attack on 22 April 2025 near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the death of 26 civilians, the majority of whom were Hindu tourists. The Resistance Front, a splinter group of Pakistan-based, UN-listed, terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially took credit for the attack before later withdrawing the claim. After, India issued a series of retaliatory actions against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, which led to responsive actions and resulted in a border skirmish and a diplomatic crisis. On 30 April, Pakistan stated that a military attack by India was imminent. 2) Timeline

7 May

Early morning, the Indian military conducted a series of 14 strikes, labeled as Operation Sindoor, targeting nine sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan's Punjab province.

The attack was likely conducted by the Indian Air Force Rafale planes with SCALP missiles and AASM Hammer glide bombs within a span of 23 minutes. Reportedly, BrahMos cruise missiles and Indian Army's Indo-Israeli SkyStriker loitering munitions were also used during the operation. According to a Pakistani general, the strikes were carried out without Indian aircraft crossing Pakistan's airspace. The same was reported in a publication by Press Information Bureau

The Indian government hailed the strikes as "focused, measured, and non-escalatory". It said that the missile strikes were aimed at the infrastructure of terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba; and no Pakistani military establishments were attacked. The missile strikes, according to India Today, were aimed at places like Bahawalpur and Muridke, who are suspected to be the terror training camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba respectively.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif organized a National Security Council meeting to orchestrate retaliation after the attacks. The NSC stated that Pakistan "reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing." The Guardian states that Sharif authorized the Pakistani military, led by Asim Munir, to respond in any manner necessary.

Pakistan's army launched mortar shells on the border district of Poonch in the Hindu-majority Jammu region.

Considered the worst shelling attack of the ongoing armed conflict in over 50 years since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971,] it left one Indian solider and 16 civilians dead.

Fatalities included women and children including 12 year old twins. 43 civilians were injured from the Pakistani artillery fire. 31 schools and scores of houses were reduced to rubble leaving numerous individuals homeless and displaced. One Sikh gurdwara, a temple, was also hit during the blitz that claimed the lives of 5 devotees of which one was a Sikh temple Ragi  India quotes that Pakistani cross-border artillery fire and small arms firing intensified after the Indian attacks, among the areas of Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri and Akhnoor, in the Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan reported that it had shot down three Rafales, one MiG-29, one SU-30MKI and a drone.

A senior French intelligence official informed CNN that an Indian Rafale was shot down by Pakistan, although the French military did not say anything.

Reuters quoted unidentified Indian government sources as saying that three warplanes crashed in India for reasons yet unknown. On 8 May, an unidentified US official spoke to Reuters and said that he had estimated with "high confidence" that Pakistani J-10 jets had downed at least two Indian fighter planes; one of the officials estimated one of the planes that were downed to be a Dassault Rafale. The Washington Post afterward stated that it had found 3 crash locations in India on 7 May, pinpointing two of them as being an Indian Dassault Rafale and Dassault Mirage 2000. Local government sources in Indian Kashmir informed Reuters on 9 May that three fighter aircraft crashed in India on 7 May with three pilots hospitalized. On May 11, in reply to a query on whether the force had incurred losses, the Indian Airforce stated that "losses are part of combat" but refused to answer if any losses had been incurred. On 15 May, Pakistani prime minister alleged that Pakistan downed six fighter aircraft which consisted of three Rafale fighter aircraft, one Mirage 2000, one MiG-29, and one Sukhoi Su-30. He alleged that Pakistani forces downed a total of 85 Indian drones which consisted of one Israeli-made Heron UAV and 84 quadcopters and surveillance drones which were used for reconnaissance and potential targeting operations. 8 May

On 8 May, India stated that Pakistan had carried out drone and missile attacks on a number of Indian cities, including Amritsar, and that India repelled these attacks through the S-400 missile system, which is referred to as Sudarshan Chakra being the first time India used the missile system in combat.

The government of India stated that it was "compelled to react to stop Mortar and Artillery fire from Pakistan".The foreign minister of Pakistan rejected these allegations and stated that the Indian Army deliberately launched an attack on the Indian city of Amritsar and attributed it to Pakistan in order to create anti-Pakistan feelings among the Sikh people, which was rejected by the Indian foreign secretary as a "deranged fantasy".

Pakistan also rejected carrying out a drone and missile attack on India.

Indian Defence forces stated that in retaliation against the Pakistani attack, they had conducted SEAD/DEAD missions, disabling Pakistani air defense systems in Lahore. Pakistani officials stated that multiple Indian drones penetrated Pakistani airspace, and 12 Indian drones were destroyed. According to Pakistan, the drones were dispatched to nine various locations including the cities of Karachi and Lahore, and one of the drones hit a Pakistani military compound close to Lahore. The Pakistani military then reportedly shot down 25 Israeli-produced Harop loitering munitions in the Pakistani portion of the frontier, an Indian government source confirmed at least one among those brought down.

A drone also landed close to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium complex ahead of a Pakistan Super League match, and the game was postponed by the Pakistan Cricket Board. India later in the day reported that Pakistan had conducted airstrikes targeting areas in and around Jammu district such as the airport and the university. All eight Pakistani missiles were said to have been shot down by the S-400 missile system. According to reports, several explosions were heard in Jammu and an explosion was reported in Jaisalmer, where fighter planes and drones were also reported. India later added that, 300-400 Turkish-Asisguard Songar drones attacked 36 locations including civilian and military infrastructure. Cross border firing was also reported by heavy calibre artillery guns along the LoC by India.

Reports have called this war as the "first drone war" between the "nuclear-armed neighbours" of South Asia; the use of Israel-Indian drones was especially notable.  9 May On 9 May Pakistani news channels had reported that India had attacked a Sikh gurdwara, Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, which India denied. India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had commented on the reports in the 9 May media briefing. The Pakistan Army also allegedly neutralized 77 Indian drones since 6 May. Fire exchanges had paused during the early morning. Clashes resumed though after "13 hours of relative calm". Artillery fire exchanges commenced in Kashmir, including in, Kupwara, Poonch, Uri, and Samba along LoC.  Pakistan is said to have fired at least 26 sites along LoC and International Border from the Baramulla region in the North to Bhuj region in the South with drones including armed ones, In a press briefing, Pakistan again rejected carrying out missile and drone attacks on Indian military bases and suggested an impartial third-party inquiry, which they assert has been ignored by India.  Pakistan also blamed India for launching ballistic missile attacks against its own land in Adampur and Amritsar, asserting that India had attacked the Sikh community in a claimed false flag operation to gain domestic backing.

India refuted the Pakistani allegations and labeled it as a move by Pakistan to conceal its own aggression.

India further stated that the Pakistani attack on a Poonch gurdwara resulted in the killing of religious figure among other Sikh community locals.

During 2025 India–Pakistan confrontation after the 22 April's attack on Pahalgam, INS Vikrant was sent to the Arabian Sea. On 9 May, news reported that Indian warships with supersonic cruise missiles had advanced towards Pakistan in recent days. The Western Fleet was relocated in the northern Arabian Sea with the Pakistani port city of Karachi within reach, according to an Indian defence source quoted by The Telegraph.

The source added the deployment of warships and escort naval aircraft was for surveillance and deterrence and went on to say, "We are alert and ready to counter any threat from the adversary." The ships are said to be sailing in international waters and are likely to stay there.

The naval task force is reported to include an aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates, and anti-submarine warfare vessels, which are located about 300 to 400 miles from the Pakistani coast.

The deployment of these platforms reportedly started about eight days ago. Some of the ships are carrying the partially Russian-designed BrahMos missile, which has a 300kg warhead and is designed to travel at speeds of up to Mach 3 to attack targets up to 500 miles away. The Navy was also ready to attack several Pakistani sites at any moment including Karachi, said the Director General of Naval Operations. The carrier battle group, surface warships and submarines were dispatched to the Northern Arabian Sea within 96 hours of the terrorist strike.

The officer said the deployment also compelled Pakistan's air and naval forces to stay in a "defensive posture".

Experts have warned that an attack on Karachi would have serious implications for Pakistan, considering the port handles nearly 60 percent of the nation's trade and is also the headquarters location of the Pakistan Navy. 10 May Targets of the missile attacks in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos (According to Pakistan)

The tensions came to a head on 10 May. India accused Pakistan of making rocket strikes on Punjab air bases in the early morning. The most serious of these was reported to be a Fatah-II long-range rocket intercepted close to the Sirsa Air Force Base in the early hours after midnight. It was rumored that it was bound for Delhi.

India claimed to have mounted its own retaliatory strikes against Pakistan air bases in return.

These were reported to have been precision strikes against specific military targets.

The Rawalpindi-based Nur Khan airbase was attacked at 2:09 am, and the explosion and fire caused widespread panic in the heavily populated district.

At 3:30 am, Pakistan admitted airbase attacks (Nur Khan, Rafiqi, and Murid), apparently through air-to-surface missiles fired from fighter aircraft.

Pakistan said the "majority" of the missiles were shot down, but not all of them.

Pakistan state media said Shaikh Zayed International Airport in Rahim Yar Khan was hit in an Indian air raid.

After India's missile attack, Pakistan responded with a retaliatory operation, called Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.

It said it had hit 26 military targets with significant destruction, such as 15 air bases of Suratgarh, Sirsa, Naliya, Adampur, Bhatinda, Barnala, Halwara, Awantipur, Srinagar, Jammu, Udhampur, Mamoon, Ambala and Pathankot.

It also said that the BrahMos storage units at Beas and Nagrota were targeted, and that two S-400 systems at Adampur and Bhuj were neutralized by the Pakistan Air Force.

India denied that its airbases, such as Sirsa Air Force Station and Suratgarh Air Force Station, had been damaged, and dismissed reports on the destruction of its S-400 and BrahMos systems as a "malicious misinformation campaign". It provided time-stamped photographs of the targets as proof, and claimed minor damage to its airbases at Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj. That the damage to the Indian airstrips was minimal was also confirmed by means of commercial imagery acquired by The New York Times. Pakistan announced that military logistics and support facilities like the Field Supply Depot in Uri and Radar Station in Poonch were hit, and command headquarters like 10 Brigade and 80 Brigade at KG Top and Nowshera, proxy training and intelligence fusion centers in Rajouri and Nowshera, were wiped out. Pakistan also asserted that Indian military facilities throughout the Line of Control, such as headquarters, logistic bases, gun emplacements, and posts, were severely hit. Pakistan also asserted that its drones breached major Indian cities and sensitive political and military installations, including New Delhi. Pakistan also reported an increase in terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, asserting these were India-sponsored.

The Indian Army posted photos of what it claimed were remains of a Baykar YIHA III loitering ammunition shot down by the air defence units. It reported the drones had struck civilian zones in Amritsar at about 5 am.[150][36] India asserted it launched precision strikes on Pakistan Air Force bases at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, and Rahim Yar Khan Airport in response to drone attacks along the western front. The attacks also reportedly hit military installations in Sukkur and Chunia, a radar station in Pasrur, and the Sialkot aviation base. India also reported that it had severely destroyed air bases in Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, and Bholari in Pakistan. Pakistani official media reported that Pakistan carried out a cyberattack as part of the operation against Indian military satellites and government websites. At the same time as the missile attacks, fierce combat occurred at the LoC near Sialkot and Rajouri. India's armed forces reported that Pakistani retaliatory attacks hit civilian targets, a Hindu temple in Jammu among them, with drones, killing at least five.

Analyst Michael Kugelman suggested the two nations were now "effectively at war";but neither had mobilised ground troops, a former Indian diplomat said. A ceasefire took off at 17:00 (IST)/16:30 (PKT). It was initially declared by US President Donald Trump on social media before the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers issued their official declarations. Following the ceasefire, explosions had been reported in the cities of Srinagar and Jammu by authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses.

Ceasefire

A tenuous ceasefire had been attained at midday on Saturday, 10 May, through the efforts of the United States. The US became alarmed at the risk that the war could become nuclear, and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio began dialing from 4:00 PKT. He called Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir, national security adviser Asim Malik and prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Vice President J. D. Vance was in contact with the Indian authorities, including prime minister Narendra Modi. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE and the UK also made interventions. Indian and Pakistani military heads conversed for the first time since the conflict began on phone at 2:30 pm. Agreement

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar[73][161] announced that both sides had agreed to a complete ceasefire and hostilities would cease as of 5:00 p.m. IST/4:30 pm PKT (11:30 GMT).

Dar said 36 nations facilitated the ceasefire.

Yet, the Indian official explained to Agence France Presse that the ceasefire was bilaterally negotiated insofar as "stoppage of firing and military action between India and Pakistan was worked out directly between the two countries". United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that both countries would negotiate "a broad set of issues at a neutral site" and that he and Vice President JD Vance had corresponded with senior officials on both sides at length. Hours later, after ceasefire violations, Indian officials hadn't yet expressed willingness for negotiations. US president Donald Trump tweeted regarding the ceasefire late in the afternoon IST/PKT, a little earlier than the formal statements by the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers. Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif declared that Trump had taken a "pivotal and paramount role" in mediating the truce along with Saudi Arabia representatives, Turkey, Qatar, UK, UN, and China. Grateful to the leadership of India and Pakistan, President Trump promised to increase trade "substantially" with both countries. After the agreement, Pakistan restored its airspace to civilian flights. Military hotlines connecting the two states became operational. Meanwhile, Defence Intelligence Agency Director General Lieutenant General D S Rana addressed defence attache from 70 nations, for approximately 30 minutes, on the "success of Operation Sindoor".

Accusations of violations

10 May: Just minutes after the announcement of ceasefire, loud blasts were heard and missiles were witnessed in the air above the cities of Srinagar and Jammu of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Late on 10 May, Misri reported that the ceasefire agreement had been violated, including cross-border shelling and the presence of Pakistani drones over Srinagar and Punjab, and urged Pakistani authorities to "address [the] violations". Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also reported explosions in Srinagar, lamenting the apparent breakdown of the ceasefire.

Pakistan's Information Minister Atta Tarar rejected Indian allegations that Pakistan had breached the ceasefire, terming reports in the Indian media as "baseless". India subsequently also accused Pakistan of firing across the ceasefire line in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. By 11 May, accounts indicated that "serious violations" of the truce ended and that the situation had calmed in a large number of cities on the Indian side of the LoC. Shops opened for business in Srinagar as things returned to normal. In India, there was a declaration by Gujarat Minister of State Harsh Sanghavi that there will be a blackout in the Kutch district after drones appeared in the air. Civilians in Peshawar heard anti-aircraft fire in Pakistan after drones appeared in the air. 12 May: Indian media reported that "suspected Pakistani drones" had been sighted and intercepted in Samba district of J&K. Blackouts were enforced at various border towns such as Amritsar as a precautionary measure. Post midnight, the Indian Army stated, "no drone activity has been detected recently, and the ceasefire situation prevails." Aerial strikes and skirmishes Initial strikes

At dawn on 7 May 2025, India conducted missile and aerial attacks on nine purported "militant camps" in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The 25-minute attack between 01:05 and 01:30 IST (19:35 and 20:00 GMT on Tuesday) set the subcontinent reeling, sending people scrambling from their homes for safety as shockwaves hit the region.

Satellite photos released after the strikes were launched indicated the scale of destruction in Pakistan. Indian fighter jets have bombed Pakistani land before in response to militant attacks on its territory but Wednesday's raid is the deepest India has penetrated within its neighbor since the Indo-Pak war of 1971, the largest of a series of wars between the two nations.

Aerial skirmishes

Indian and Pakistani fighter aircraft clashed on 7 May. The Pakistan side has claimed that three Dassault Rafales, a MiG-29 and one Su-30MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force were allegedly destroyed. In case of truth, would be first time that French-origin Dassault Rafale is lost in combat, allegedly getting shot down by the Chinese-origin Chengdu J-10.

This, coupled with the launch of Chinese-origin PL-15E missiles during the battle, have reportedly made headlines around the world.

The Pakistan Air Force shot down and destroyed 84 Harop drones made by Israel, which India had launched, according to Pakistan.

The Pakistan Air Force also repeated its previous claims of downing five Indian fighter planes, which included Rafale planes, supported by crash sites, how the interception of combat formation was done, Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcript of the pilot's last communications, and flight data.

Indian forces asserted that Pakistani jets were barred from entering the Indian airspace and that "a few" of their fighter planes have been intercepted and the wreckage was outside India.

Their exact numbers were not disclosed.

On purported jet losses, the Indian Air Force averred "losses are part of combat" without further information, noting all pilots were home.

France 24 said India's denial to confirm or deny the loss of the jets lent more validity to the claims of downing. Defence expert Michael Clarke said in a report to Al Jazeera that had India lost a Rafale aircraft, "that would certainly be embarrassing." He also said that if the plane went down inside Indian jurisdiction, India would try to hold it as an unconfirmed rumour as long as they could, and that its overall statement about "inevitable losses" is perhaps the closest they will admit. Pakistani troops asserted that one of its planes was lightly damaged in an encounter with India. The Indian military displayed the alleged wreckage of what it asserted to be a Mirage III or Mirage 5 on 12 May 2025, asserting that it intercepted it. In a Press Information Bureau release on 16 May 2025, the Indian government asserted that in the initial strikes on terror camps the Indian Air Force had "bypassed and jammed Pakistan's Chinese-supplied air defence systems" and the operation was carried out without the loss of any Indian asset. Strikes on Pakistani air bases On 8 May 2025, as an Indian strike back, Pakistan reportedly targeted a number of Indian military installations.

Following this, on 9 and 10 May, the Indian Armed Forces conducted various air-strike missions, but this time with a broader objective to attack Pakistani military establishments.

According to Indian media, the air raids were conceived by India's Chief of the Air Staff Amar Preet Singh as NSA Ajit Doval gave the final go-ahead.

These are said to have been carried out by Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jets carrying BrahMos missiles.

According to evidences, such as high-resolution satellite imagery, The New York Times reports that although the attacks were indiscriminate, the damage was considerably more limited than asserted. Satellite before and after images of six Pakistan military airbases were analyzed by The New York Times and The Washington Post, which revealed massive damages that were caused by the air strikes. India was able to inflict damage deep within the Pakistani side, striking airfields and additional defense systems, and hitting close to one of the key strategic headquarters of Pakistan. Indian missiles and drones pounded six major Pakistani Air Bases and additional facilities.

1. PAF Base Nur Khan, only 10 km away from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad was a strategic target during air strikes. In accordance with an eye-witness and two Pakistani security officials, the strike on Nur Khan air base involved a minimum of two missile attacks as well as strikes by drones.

The barrage destroyed two roofs and struck the hangar of a refueling aircraft, one of the officials said, visiting the base the following day.

As per William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, two mobile command centers at the Nur Khan airbase were destroyed.

Additionally, the Post, also published videos taken from a neighboring parking lot which "showed smoke issuing from the damaged zone". 

2. PAF Base Bholari, situated within 100 miles (160 km) from Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and home to a Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&CS squadron, also became a target of Indian Air Strikes. There seemed to be a missile attack that left a 60 ft (18 m) broad hole on an aircraft hangar. Debris spread on the pavement around the hangar while the wall seemed to have fallen onto an adjacent building. 

3. PAF Base Shahbaz, which hosts several variants of F-16 Fighting Falcon and AW139, was also targeted. It led to a 100 ft (30 m) diameter crater in an aircraft hangar and damage to its Air Traffic Control tower as reported by The Washington Post. 

4. At PAF Base Mushaf, ex-Sargodha airbase in Punjab Province, the Indians alleged that precision weapons had been employed to target two parts of the runway. Even here, satellite imaging established that there was a crater on the runway. 

5.On 10 May, Pakistan published a NOTAM announcing the Rahim Yar Khan Airport runway out of operation for one week through to 18 May because of a "Work in Progress" (WIP).

There was a crater on the runway in satellite images taken after the Indian strike that did not appear in previous images.

According to Pakistani sources, Royal Lounge at the airport was destroyed in the attack and a 100 ft (30 m) wide crater was formed in the apron.

6. Sukkur Airport also suffered in the attacks as a hangar collapsed and a suspected radar site was destroyed as per Goodhind

India seemed to have enjoyed a distinct advantage is in the targeting of Pakistan's military installations and airbases, since the second phase of fighting transitioned from token raids and displays of force to assaults on each other's defensive capabilities according to The New York Times.  Purported nuclear escalation Other reports suggested that India's missile-drone attacks on a number of Pakistani airbases, particularly PAF Base Nur Khan, forced US mediation for ceasefire deal. The base is said to be a strategic asset of PAF being "one of the central transport hubs" and "home to the air refueling capability" (No. 10 Squadron).

The site was also slightly more than a mile from the headquarters of the Strategic Plans Division in charge of Pakistan's nuclear weapons which comprise more than 170 warheads.

The New York Times further quoted a former US official as saying, "Pakistan's worst fear is that its nuclear command structure would be decapitated" and that Indian missile attacks had been read as a threat regarding India's ability to follow suit.

As per Christopher Clary, an associate professor at the University at Albany, "So, an attack on the facility might have been seen to be more risky than India was planning – and the two sides should not assume that it is possible to have a war without it going nuclear.".

Nonetheless, contrary to the allegations of various reports, India refuted that it had attacked the Kirana Hills Site. The International Atomic Energy Agency also confirmed after investigations that there was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear plant in Pakistan. On May 14, Reuters said that the Indian attacks on Nur Khan Airbase had raised alarms among US officials because the bases are close to Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division, which oversees its nuclear planning.  Casualties India India reported that 5 military personnel and 21 civilians had been killed in the fighting.

The deaths and most of the injured occurred in Poonch district where Indian media sources said a gurudwara, school and homes were hit in the shelling.

Pakistani shelling also killed two students at a Catholic school in Indian-held Kashmir.

The Carmelites of Mary Congregation convent was also damaged.

One Indian Air Force officer was killed after Pakistan's air attack on Udhampur Air Force Station and a deputy commissioner was also killed in Pakistani shelling in Rajouri.

Pakistan Pakistan reported 51 dead, including 40 civilians and 11 military personnel, in the clashes. Reuters had written that a mosque was targeted in Muzaffarabad in the attacks and BBC News had quoted a local report stating that an educational complex had been struck in Muridke that housed a school, a college and a medical clinic. BBC News had stated that the Muridke complex had been utilized by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned terrorist organization. It was later utilized by its front organization called Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Sky News discovered videos on social media platforms with sympathetic faces for at least two terrorist organizations, Lashkar-e-Taiba and 313. It revealed that Markaz Taiba Mosque of Muridke as a terrorist hub.

Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) informed Sky news that, it has long been well-known by decades regarding the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.

It was also denied by Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif who termed it as a media hoax. Also, Al-Jazeera reported this location as the most prominent among the others targeted by India. This facility was established by NIA Most Wanted, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafiz Saeed Saeed also established Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a rebranded form of Lashkar-e-Taiba. They claim to be a charity organization as per MEMRI. Masood Azhar, the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, stated ten members of his family were killed in Indian attacks, including five children of his extended family members. Bahawalpur was among the sites of Indian attacks. The Jaish-e-Mohammed, UN-listed terror organization headquarters were said to be located at Bahawalpur. Following the attacks, Abdul Rauf Azhar was reported to have been killed as the headquarters were destroyed. He is accused of being one of the co-conspirator behind Daniel Pearl's death, an American reporter who worked for The Wall Street Journal. Jerusalem Post and Algemeiner Journal explained that Judea Pearl, Daniel's father, also commented on this act on social media by explaining the details which resulted in the death of his son Daniel. He wrote about the perpetrators of this as well, including Azhar. The Pakistan army confirmed that six air-men were killed in the Indian Air Strikes including 5 at PAF Base Bholari and one at PAF Base Mushaf.

India stated that at least 100 rebels were killed in the missile attacks, and 35 to 40 Pakistani personnel were lost in the fighting. The comparison below presents satellite imagery released by the Indian Armed Forces prior to the aerial attacks and drone photographs taken during or after the strikes.

Analysis The New York Times reported that India's part was "assertive" and "aggressive", and perhaps set a new threshold of deterrence against Pakistan. The Times also reported that in its first strikes, India attacked targets deeper within the enemy territory than it had attacked in past decades and had reached close enough to sites associated with "terrorist activities" that India could declare victory against those groups. At the conflict's conclusion, it released high-resolution before and after satellite imagery, which indicated India's advantage in targeting of Pakistan's military bases and airfields. It said that India was frustrated after Donald Trump public declarations of brokering a cease-fire, showing both nations on equal footing and minimizing the terrorist attack that provoked the strife, and that India had wanted any U.S. role to be low-profile, and Trump's depiction of both nations on equal footing was viewed by Indian administrators as diplomatically frustrating and politically sensitive. It also stated that the outcome of the conflict was "little more than a draw".

Pointing out that while India had inflicted damage on sensitive Pakistani airbases, hangars and runways, it lost planes in air battles.

Declaring that the conflict was a strategic loss for India, which was left on par with Pakistan, a smaller, weaker nation which Indian officials describe as an outlaw sponsor of terrorism.

Supplementing that diplomatically, India seemed helpless to end the war and that the threat of nuclear war constrained how much India might do militarily.

As of The Washington Post, Pakistan's joy that "ceasefire with India reestablished deterrence", "may be clouding a clearheaded assessment" and the "regional status quo had been upended" by more aggressive Indian attacks, including an attack on Pakistan's military headquarters. The Post reported that, in the view of analysts, the purported losses of Indian aircraft would amount to a humiliation of the Indian military. This operation by the Indian military against Pakistan exposed vulnerabilities in the Indian Air Force, reported French newspaper Le Monde, and that the victory for Pakistan Air Force was due to the better training and combat experience of the majority of the pilots as they had been engaged in persistent counter-terrorism air campaigns in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, while India had remained relatively peaceful. It stated that the big military clash "created no winners." According to Al Jazeera, analysts argue that neither of the two sides came out with a clear upper hand, and both countries attained certain strategic achievements even as each also incurred losses. Al Jazeera also reported that analysts stated that Pakistan's achievements consisted of internationalizing the Kashmir cause and shooting down aircraft, while India's achievement consisted of highlighting presumed terrorism based in Pakistan and showing further military reach across the border. The Financial Times, reporting both India and Pakistan saying they had emerged victorious, described the ceasefire as giving Islamabad the "diplomatic upper hand", as US intervention framed India, the "fifth-biggest economy", with what it views as a "terrorism-backing rogue state". The war seemed to consolidate fragmented Pakistani political elements at home and gave Pakistan a diplomatic upper hand over India when it came to Trump's participation in ceasefire negotiations, says Manal Fatima of the Atlantic Council. Operation Sindoor, says global fellow at the Council Srujan Palkar, "uncovered an imbalance in US policy towards South Asia.". The analyst pointed out that for the United States to continue to build trust with India, it has to place "the onus on the Pakistani establishment to play its part in counterterrorism" along with thinking about downgrading Pakistan's Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status. As reported by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the alleged downing of an Indian Rafale jet (French-made) by a Pakistani air-defense system (Chinese-made) puts Western military technology at stake.

It reported that India's Operation Sindoor "became a debacle", as it did not eliminate their targets swiftly, undetected and without casualties, with Indian pilots facing intense resistance, and that even though India accused Pakistan of the Pahalgam attacks and wanted to inflict a punitive strike, the operation cost India dearly.

As The Diplomat magazine's correspondent in Pakistan, Umair Jamal wrote that Pakistan emerged "emboldened" following its confrontation with India. He stated that the war brought the nation together, that the Pakistani military has become more popular than previously, and that political leadership now realize the necessity of bolstering the armed forces. He felt that Pakistan gained a diplomatic victory by behaving with "restraint" and considered the US intervention to have been more in Pakistan's favor than India's. In a paper released by RUSI, Walter Ladwig of King's College London said that India had apparently "largely accomplished its stated goals".

He added that the Indian Airforce had, in the initial days, demonstrated the ability to destroy alleged terror infrastructure, and for the first time since 1971 had penetrated Pakistani air defense systems to strike forward airbases - demonstrating a capacity for "coercive precision operations".

But he added that the initial silence of the Indian military had allowed the space for narrative, which had consequently placed an excessive focus on particular platforms.

He added that the Indian operation had established a new normal in terms of responses to terror attacks, shifting the employment of force against Pakistan proper from "exception to expectation.". He nevertheless added that peripheral players will try to exploit this and cause provocations, and insisted on widening channels of communication. He asserted that Operation Sindoor should not be recalled as a "dogfight between airframes" but as a "calibrated use of force" intended to demonstrate resolve, hit at terrorist infrastructure, and demonstrate military capacity. Christopher Clary, a professor at the University at Albany and Indian–Pakistan relations specialist, told The Washington Post that satellite imagery confirms the assertion that the Indian military caused extensive, although not catastrophic, harm to Pakistan's air force at multiple eastern bases.

In their article for the Small Wars Journal, John Spencer and Vincent Viola assert that Operation Sindoor was not merely a swift military response — it represented a crucial strategic shift. Within four days, India conducted precise strikes against heavily fortified positions along the border employing solely indigenous developed or assembled systems like BrahMos missiles, Akashteer air defense systems, and loiter munitions, without the use of U.S. platforms or the logistics of foreign countries. India did not only win — it proved to be manifestly superior militarily over a Chinese-backed adversary.

The operation signaled a trend of national defense doctrine towards self-sufficiency and indigenous capability.

As the struggle between Pakistan, which was pro-Chinese in arms and strategy, to respond to India's precision attack, whose Chinese-produced air defenses did not work. American geopolitical analyst Brandon Weichert writing for the The National Interest described the aerial duel between both countries as an unambiguous victory for Pakistan, insofar as western observers had not expected Chinese-made equipment to be able to shoot down the Rafales.  Retired Indian Navy officer and analyst C. Uday Bhaskar explained to Deutsche Welle that "India and Prime minister Modi were compelled to react to the 22 April attack because opposition parties and social media posters were going around posting excerpts of Modi attacking former Prime minister Manmohan Singh for not responding to the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Modi thus had to demonstrate that he was capable of acting on India's 'cross-border strike' policy by striking at places like Muridke and Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province." Bhaskar further added that "this narrative cemented the belligerent image of 'India under Modi's command,' which pursues a hardline and zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. It feeds the narrative of Modi as a 'protector of Hindus,' which has electoral value. The upcoming Bihar assembly elections will test the narrative." Indian geostrategist and columnist Brahma Chellaney stated in The Hill that "Trump undermined America's strategic partnership with India" by rescuing Pakistan through $2.4 billion IMF bailout, creating false equivalence between India (victim of terror) and Pakistan (sponsor of terror).

Impact Pakistani airspace was closed for 48 hours and all flights were cancelled. Schools and colleges were shut down in Pakistani Punjab, and CIE examinations were cancelled in most of Pakistan. In India, at least 25 airports in northern and western India were closed until 10 May. Srinagar Airport was taken over by the Indian Air Force and civil operations were halted for an indefinite period.

The 2025 Indian Premier League rescheduled a game between Punjab Kings and the Mumbai Indians, originally set at Dharamsala on 11 May, to Ahmedabad due to the closure of Kangra Airport and other logistical challenges created by the escalated tensions. Likewise, in 2025 Pakistan Super League, a Karachi Kings versus Peshawar Zalmi match was not possible to be played. On 9 May, both the tournaments were put on hold due to deterioration of the situation.

Over 8,000 Twitter handles were censored in India. Indian government censored some Pakistani YouTube channels and six Bangladeshi channels' YouTube handles under the Information Technology Act, 2000 section 69(A) on the ground of "threat to the national security or public discipline". This action was protested by the Bangladeshi government. X reports of Chinese state-owned news agencies Xinhua News Agency and Global Times, as well as Turkish public broadcaster TRT World, were also blocked in India. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked 79 Indian YouTube channels and websites for "anti-Pakistan propaganda" which eroded "national unity". Indian and Pakistani stock markets saw heightened volatility during the week amid rising geopolitical tensions, but snapped back strongly on 12 May after the ceasefire agreement.

In China, the video parody ridiculing India for the allegedly shot-down Rafale jets by Pakistani J-10C fighters went viral, gaining millions of likes on Douyin and being shared by Pakistan's Defence Ministry.

The video was roundly denigrated as "racist and nationalistic", with commenters attributing its popularity to growing Chinese nationalist feelings. While the Chinese populace welcomed the event as a victory for indigenous military technology, the government of China was diplomatically careful, calling on both parties to remain restrained in the face of regional tensions.

An Ashoka University professor in India was accused of defying national dignity and detained for social media comments on India's Operation Sindoor, in which he criticized the deployment of Muslim women officers for show and raised concerns such as mob lynching against Muslims in India amidst the war. The situation drew criticism from more than 1,200 academics and members of civil society, who termed it an assault on free speech and academic freedom.

After the conflict, the Pakistan government also upgraded Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir to Field Marshal on 20 May 2025 for his leadership during the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the military operation a "remarkable success" and praised Munir's "exemplary courage and resolve".

Misinformation

There were several disinformation campaigns in both nations in the aftermath of the strikes, especially on social media platform X.

Sumitra Badrinathan, a visiting professor of political science at the American University, said the false narratives concerning the India-Pakistan rivalry previously tended to come from anonymous social media accounts, but in the current conflict, misinformations at least on the Indian side had come from "previously credible journalists and mainstream media outlets." South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman added that there was a "very high volume of particularly egregious fake news" in government-aligned Indian media outlets. Some Indian broadcast media relayed unsubstantiated reports, such as alleged attacks on a Pakistani nuclear facility, destruction of two Pakistani fighter aircraft on the basis of AI-created deepfake, Indian troops crossing the international border, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif going into a bunker, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir being ousted in a coup and arrested, Pakistani capital Islamabad being captured, and had also spread rumors like the Indian Navy attacking Karachi Port, all of which turned out to be false. As per the UK Defence Journal and Washington Examiner, a clip from a video game Arma 3 was posted by the official X (Twitter) account of the Government of Pakistan, praising the "timely and nerve-wracking response" of the military, as the clip depicting a jet being hit went viral on social media amidst the conflict. A front page of the Daily Telegraph illustrating Pakistani air triumph in the war, posted by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in the Senate and by Ikhtiar Wali Khan online, was discovered to have been produced by fact checkers using AI. A CNN infographic claiming to confirm Pakistan's official reports of gains and losses in the war was likewise discovered to have been faked. Deutsche Welle fact-checked some of the lies on social media throughout the conflict.

One video with more than 5 million views, purporting to capture Indian missile attacks, was actually footage of Iranian missiles striking Israel released by DD India in October 2024. Another lie by a pro-Pakistan account that a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft, operated by the Indian Air Force, had been downed in Pakistan, close to Bahawalpur.

The image, however, was not a Rafale but a Pakistan Mirage 5 which had crashed during a training exercise in south-eastern Pakistan some three weeks prior to the war. Another fake video from a June 2024 crash of an Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI in Nashik, Maharashtra was widely circulated as that of a downed Rafale aircraft by Pakistan close to the Line of Control. Legal status

The Pakistani Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) indicated that casualties from Indian air strikes were "a grave violation of international human rights law and could constitute crimes against humanity".

In The Hindu, legal journalist Aaratrika Bhaumik submitted that for military self-defence to be legitimate under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, military operations need to "immediately" be brought before the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Bhaumik read the Indian foreign minister's 8 May briefing to 13 of the 15 member states of the UNSC as "apparent adherence" to the requirement of Article 51 and wrote that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) read Article 51 as applicable only in the event of defense against such attacks by non-state actors if the attacks were carried out by a state. P. Jindal Global University legal analyst Prabhash Ranjan read the foreign minister as having steered clear of invoking international law and instead having blamed Pakistan as a state for the attack. He interpreted the foreign minister's legal case to be drawn on a disputed Indian conception of the right of defence against non-state actors introduced at an Arria formula meeting in February 2021.

Ranjan considered the Indian military strikes on 7 May 2025 to have met the requirements of military necessity and proportionality.