Pakistan has promised to retaliate after India launched military strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, fuelling fears of a broader confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.Pakistan’s government on Wednesday pledged to respond “at a time, place and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty”.
Pakistan’s military said at least 31 civilians were killed and 46 others injured in the Indian attacks and ensuing cross-border shelling, describing the strikes as having “ignited an inferno in the region”.
In New Delhi, Indian officials briefed more than a dozen foreign envoys, telling them: “If Pakistan responds, India will respond”.
It comes amid spiralling tensions following a deadly attack last month on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan-based fighters. Islamabad has denied any involvement.
Cross-border shelling
India’s government said its forces targeted nine sites it described as “terrorist infrastructure”, including facilities allegedly linked to the fighters who killed 25 tourists and one local in last month’s Kashmir attack. Advertisement
However, in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, residents said Indian missiles struck a mosque-seminary in the city centre.
Indian security force personnel stand guard near the site of a fighter jet crash in Wuyan in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pulwama district, May 7, 2025 [Sharafat Ali/Reuters]
The building, which included residential quarters, was left in ruins, with five missiles reportedly killing three people inside the two-storey structure.
Meanwhile, heavy cross-border shelling and gunfire continued along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing Kashmir. Officials said 13 civilians were killed and 43 wounded on the Indian side, while at least six civilians we …
