• Five locations struck include Bahawalpur & Muridke in Punjab; Kotli, Bagh and Muzaffarabad in AJK
• Civilian areas, including mosques and residential neighbourhoods, deliberately targeted
• New Delhi claims several targets hit under ‘Operation Sindoor’ • PM Shehbaz says Pakistan responding with full force
• At least nine deaths reported so far; two children among those slain in Kotli
• PAF downs two Indian jets and a drone, says defence minister
• PTV reports Indian brigade headquarters destroyed
• Flight operations suspended at Islamabad airport
• Punjab CM announces school holiday over safety concerns

KARACHI / MUZAFFARABAD: Multiple casualties were reported after India launched a series of devious attacks on Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday, triggering a rapid response from the Pakistani military, officials said.

Islamabad had been consistently warning the international community that an Indian military attack was imminent, and these fears were realised when, after 1am on Wednesday, New Delhi launched a series of strikes on at least five locations across the country – including Ahmedpur East and Muridke in Punjab province; and Kotli, Bagh and Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir.

The attacks, carried out under the cover of darkness, were condemned by the Pakistani leadership as cowardly and aimed at civilians.

Initial reports suggested that at least three people had died and over a dozen were injured. The deceased included a child in Ahmedpur East, and two siblings in AJK’s Kotli.

In a strongly worded statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attacks and confirmed that Pakistan had launched a counteroffensive.

“The treacherous enemy has launched cowardly strikes on five locations inside Pakistan. The nation stands united with our armed forces. Pakistan has the full right to respond, and it is responding with full force,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office strongly also condemned India’s “cowardly action”, adding that the situation continues to evolve.

“Pakistan reserves the right to respond appropriately at a time and place of its choosing, in accordance with the Article-51 of the UN Charter, and as enshrined in international law,” a late-night statement said.

Indian strike

Indian armed forces claimed to have launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, saying they had hit several sites in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Reuters reported, quoting a statement from New Delhi.

It claimed that these were “precision strikes at terrorist camps” and that no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted, the statement added.

In a video posted on its X account, the Indian army claimed that “justice is served,” with New Delhi insisting that its actions “have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.

But the Pakistan military’s chief spokesperson said that five areas were struck, according to the draft assessment.

According to security officials, Indian missiles deliberately targeted civilian areas, including mosques and residential neighbourhoods. In Bahawalpur, Subhan Mosque was hit. Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur confirmed receiving seven bodies of civilians who succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack.

In the Roli neighbourhood of Kotli, AJK, two children — a boy and a girl — were martyred after a mosque was struck. Two others were injured in the same attack.

DC Mudasser Farooq told Dawn that shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) had also started in the Panjkot area of district Muzaffarabad. He feared casualties might occur there.

A mosque and electricity network in the Shiwai area have been badly damaged, he said. “We have evacuated most of the families from there,” Mr Farooq said.

The attacks triggered widespread alarm across multiple cities.

Reuters, citing multiple witnesses, initially reported that multiple loud explosions were heard in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir area close to the mountains around the city of Muzaffarabad after midnight on Wednesday.

After the explosions, the city’s power was blacked out, the witnesses said. Dawn’s correspondent in Muzaffarabad also confirmed hearing multiple blasts.

In Bahawalpur, police sources confirmed that a seminary located near Chowk Azam and allegedly linked to Maulana Masood Azhar had been targeted. Four large explosions were reported by residents, with much of the city plunged into darkness.

“In Ahmedpur East, we have information about the martyrdom of a child and 12 people injured,” DG Chaudhry said. “Two civilians were martyred in Kotli,. We know that a mosque was struck [in Ahmedpur]; ordinance landed on a house near it,” he said. “Parents and a child are stuck and being rescued.”

The DG ISPR said that a mosque in Kotli was also attacked.

Response

“I want to tell you that Pakistan’s retaliation is underway on the ground and in the air,” Lt-Gen Chaudhry said.

The military spokesman also said that Indian planes had not been allowed to enter Pakistani airspace, and assured that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) remained on high alert and was actively monitoring the skies. “Indian jets will not be allowed to violate our sovereignty,” he assured.

Security sources and media reports suggested that in its response, the PAF had launched retaliatory strikes. Reuters quoted Defence Minister Khawaja Asif as saying that at least two Indian aircraft and a unmanned drone had been shot down.

One of the jets, a single-seater Rafale, was reportedly hit by a PL-15 air-to-air missile near Bahawalpur. The aircraft was reportedly destroyed and the pilot killed, but this information could not be independently verified.

State-run PTV News reported that a second Indian fighter jet was also shot down during an aerial skirmish, though details remained sketchy.

PTV also reported claimed that Pakistani retaliatory strikes had destroyed an Indian brigade headquarters in Indian-held Kashmir, though it did not specify the exact location.

The attacks also disrupted air travel across Pakistan. Flights from Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad airports were reportedly cancelled, with Lahore and Islamabad airports being closed down. There were also reports of an airspace closure over Pakistan, but these could not be immediately verified as officials were not available for confirmation late at night.

Official confirmation on casualties or infrastructure damage were still pending until the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz tweeted that educational institutions across Punjab will remain closed today in view of public safety.

With input from Dawn.com. Tariq Naqash in Nuzaffarabad, Majeed Gill in Bahawalpur, Amir Wasim and Baqir Sajjad Syed in Islamabad and Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025