BREAKING: India launches airstrikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir | BBC News

We start tonight with a breaking story that India has launched an attack on Pakistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir and Jammu. Relations between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers have long been tense but deteriorated sharply following a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir last month. Pakistan is vowing to retaliate at a time and place of its choosing. It looks like that may be underway. Our international editor Jeremy Bone is here and Jeremy this news has just come in. So what more can you tell us? Fill us in. Well, there are a few things to think about here tonight. First of all, the question is is whether India will decide that their honor has been satisfied after that attack. And then the question will be what about the Pakistani response? There’s been uh news reports coming out the Pakistanis saying their jets are in the sky at the moment. So the the nature of their response to this and any escalation that results is clearly going to be something that people are deeply worried about because both of these countries with a long tradition of emnity uh have nuclear weapons. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. This at the moment is a response to an attack uh which India is blaming on Pakistan on militant groups that are based there and they have hit nine places with various kinds of u um missiles that they’ve got and they have been hinting that something like this will happen. It’s been on the card. So let’s hope thath internationally people are ready to try and calm the situation down to make sure it doesn’t go any further than it needs to get because India and Pakistan have a long history of tension between them and over the disputed area of Kashmir which has been disputed since the partition of uh of India uh just after the second world war. Well, as you say, Jeremy, this has been on the cards for some time. Relations have been extremely tense between the two countries for a number of years. Yeah, they have been tense. And so that’s why this is something that you we’ve got to be concerned about. But also, I think the first of all, both sides will know what the stakes are here. So, as I say, really important for everybody looking at this, people who might be worried about it, people who might have family out there, people who are concerned about what may happen. and journalists must not get ahead of themselves at the moment about this. Now, it’s obviously it’s breaking news in the world, but it’s something that now there has to be a major diplomatic push to stop it escalating, to calm things down, for both sides to say, “Right, honor has been satisfied. Now we can draw a line.” Jeremy, thank you very much. Well, we can now go live to Samir Hussein uh reporting from India for us. Samir, what can you tell us? Well, look, so far the only details that we’re getting here in India are actually from the Indian government and not the army. And what they’re saying is that they have hit nine targets in Pakistan. They’re saying that these targets were in fact militant targets. They are saying that they did not target the Pakistan military. And they’re saying that right now actually you’re seeing some we’re getting some reports of artillery shelling happening between the two countries at some points along the line of control. And now really what’s going to happen is everyone’s looking towards Pakistan in terms of what kind of retaliation we may see. Now remember it’s been 12 days since that attack that happened targeting all these tourists and many people have been wondering about what was going to happen between India and Pakistan. Remember along this line of control there has been quite a few um quite a long ceasefire that has clearly been breached and so now there’s a real concern in terms of what Pakistan’s response may be to what’s just happened in New Delhi. Thank you very much for joining us.

The Indian government says its forces have launched “Operation Sindoor”, “hitting terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed”.

In a statement, the Indian government says “nine sites have been targeted… 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 said the attack was ordered after last month’s deadly militant attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir.

Explosions have been reported in several places in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir with reports of power cuts in the city of Muzaffarabad.

The head of Pakistan’s military public relations wing confirmed that three areas have been hit by Indian missiles, Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Bahwalpur.

Relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply following a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir last month.

Pakistan’s said it would “respond to this [attack] at a time and place of its choosing… All of our air force jets are airborne. This is a shameful and cowardly attack that was carried out from within India’s airspace.”

Fiona Bruce presents BBC News at Ten reporting by international editor Jeremy Bowen and Samira Hussain in New Delhi.

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42 comments

  2. @Samira Hussain…. "Info only from Indian Govt and none from the Indian Army!!" —ha ha ha ha…. Army is just a part of Govt and hence only with the permission of Indian Govt they will make it public…

    As someone said, "every country has an Army expect Pakistan where the Army has a Country"!!

    @Samira you better relocate to Pakistan and then on you will get info directly from Pak Army which you can happily report without cross checking any facts!!

    Apparently these BBC characters will never change!!

  10. Also mention that there is no evidemce of phalagam attak India is just using it againts pakistan .And also mention that India has attack civillian which are innocent.They are actually some sort of barbaric nation.Even pakistan shot 5 jets of India too

  12. Also mention that there is no evidemce of phalagam attak India is just using it againts pakistan .And also mention that India has attack civillian which are innocent.They are actually some sort of barbaric nation.Even pakistan shot 5 jets of India too

  14. where is the evidence that PAKISTANIS did the killing in kashmir
    there is no evidence prove first then say they did it
    we PAKISTANIS also wanna know who did the killing in kashmir
    and we want justice to be served

    and when india attacked last night they killed innocent people including children
    indians ask your government for evidence dont trust them blindly

    do your research

  17. Pakistan is run by corrupt by Politicians, it is not a democratic country the rest I don't have to write because everyone has plundered and looted this country & always depended on west for loans, the poor people of Pakistan will be fooled once again, we will face another inflation sorry sorry affairs the west is there LORDS

  18. Hindu extremists are blind and can't see that civilians and mosqus were hit all those who died are families, and their leader have guts to come out on media and says it was precise attack against terrorists. What a bunch of losers. India is copying Israhel. It's just India's tactics to gain control on water otherwise what could have pakistan gained from that attack? Attack is always done by the side that has most advantage in it, well india wants control of water, Pakistani couldn't get anything from killing tourist. It was all planed by modi. Pakistan called for independent investigation by international bodies but India didn't wanted that. Surely if pakistan was involved then it would have been exposed.

  24. darpok Indian army raat ko hamla karti hai Din mein hamla karne ki jaurat nahi shame on you Indian army tumhare rifle jet to Gaye

  27. Once again india started this. They forgot disgusting defeat in 2019. Pakistan dropped 5 indian jets already since last night. Modi started with terrorist attack on Pakistan

  29. If you allow to live terrorist in your country then whole country is a terrorist. And one point india never started anything ..so stop RR. 🇮🇳🚩🔱pkmc

  32. India is blaming pakistan on just a silly hunch that it was a terrorist attack by Pakistani terrorists. While Pakistan approached with a more reasonable step Asking the UN to dig into the matter to find out the truth.
    India's rush to conclusion gives a strong idea that the attack was an inside job by India.

  38. Bbc is pakistani media not british medea,
    They are terrorist nit militant.
    Most biggest foolish media in the world is bbc and alzajira

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