India has carried out airstrikes on several targets in Pakistan. According to the government in New Delhi, these were "precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure". Pakistani sources reported 26 civilian casualties and 46 more injured.
Pakistani authorities reported that strikes were carried out on five locations, while the Indian Ministry of Defense said that nine targets were attacked. According to the Indian government's statement, their actions were "measured, targeted and not for the purpose of escalation". No Pakistani military facilities were attacked, the official statement also said.
Pakistan Defense Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif claimed that the targets attacked were civilian objects. The Pakistani military said the Indian attacks hit locations in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and the Punjab region bordering India.
Pakistan will retaliate
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed that Islamabad would retaliate. Pakistan had "full right to respond to this act of war with all possible severity", he said. A Pakistani military spokesman said New Delhi's actions were "a heinous provocation" and Pakistan would respond "when and where it sees fit".
Meanwhile, the Pakistani military said that the Pakistani air force had shot down five Indian fighter jets. India initially did not confirm the information. A spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority announced that Pakistan's airspace had been closed for 48 hours and that flights to Islamabad and Lahore airports had been suspended until further notice.
How the attack happened
India also reported casualties - at least three civilians were killed in shelling in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. The Pakistani army fired indiscriminately along the Line of Control. It is considered the de facto border and divides Kashmir between the two countries.
The attacks are a significant escalation of tensions between the two nuclear powers in recent weeks. The problems began after a terrorist attack on April 22 in the Indian-controlled part of the restive Kashmir region. Gunmen killed 26 people - mostly Indian tourists - in a mountain meadow in a resort area near the town of Pahalgam. The Indian government accuses Pakistan of involvement, which Islamabad denies.
Other measures before last night's attack
After the attack in late April, both countries imposed punitive measures on each other, including expelling their citizens and downgrading diplomatic relations. Experts consider India's decision to suspend the so-called Indus Waters Treaty with its neighbor to be particularly serious. The treaty regulates the use of water on both sides of the Indus River and its tributaries.
The Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, but both countries claim the entire area as theirs. The conflict dates back to colonial times. China also has serious interests in the region, and it borders both countries. Earlier today, Beijing called on both sides to show restraint.