Operation Sindoor explained: How India attacked Pakistan overnight, and why
[Editor's Note: Khaleej Times is bringing you the latest updates on rising tensions between India and Pakistan here.]
Over the last week, as diplomatic relations rapidly unravelled following the Pahalgam attack, Pakistani intelligence sources forewarned an attack by India was imminent. On May 7, in the middle of the night, that warning was proved true.
India attacked multiple sites in Pakistan early on Wednesday, targeting what it called 'terrorist infrastructure'. At least eight Pakistanis were killed and 35 injured, a Pakistan military spokesperson said in a statement.
India's Ministry of Defence said the strike was part of 'Operation Sindoor' and described it as "a precise and restrained response" to the attack in Pahalgam last month, which claimed 26 lives.
Here is everything you need to know about what the operation means and how it took place:
What is 'Operation Sindoor'?
The name of India's military operation, Sindoor, is an apparent reference to the women who lost their spouses in the attack on Hindu tourists in Pahalgam last month.
Sindoor is a Hindi word used to refer to the traditional red vermilion worn by married Hindu women on their forehead symbolising protection and marital commitment. Women traditionally stop wearing it when they are widowed.
The imagery has been brought to life with a graphic that has gone viral in the aftermath of the attack (see below):
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
How many sites were hit and where?
India claims that it attacked nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir under the operation. According to ANI sources, Indian armed forces struck four targets in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot, and five in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Geo that all sites targeted by India were civilian and not militant camps. The Indian statement further said, "No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted."
How were the sites chosen?
Indian forces said they selected the location for strikes with the intent of targeting top Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar leadership for their role in sponsoring terrorist activities in India, stated ANI, citing close sources.
What was the impact of the strikes?
Initial reports recorded three civilian deaths in Pakistan, including that of a child. Within a couple of hours, however, the death toll was revised to eight, with 35 casualties reported.
Meanwhile, a statement by the Indian army added that three civilians had been killed after Pakistan "resorted to indiscriminate firing and shelling".
How has Pakistan responded?
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Indian attack "unprovoked" and "cowardly", and said the "heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished."
What does this operation mean for ongoing tensions?
Wednesday's strikes are a dangerous heightening of friction between the South Asian neighbours, who have fought multiple wars since they gained independence from the British in 1947.
For days, the international community has piled pressure on Pakistan and India to step back from the brink of war. However, in the wake of the attacks — which is the worst fighting in years between the nuclear-armed neighbours — Pakistan has said it would mount a befitting response in a "time of its choosing" to what it called "an act of war".
Here, in the UAE, expats from both communities spent a restless night, staying up to watch the news and connect with anxious loved ones near the border amid fears of a full-blown war breaking out. (Read the full story here.)
How have world leaders reacted?
Asked about the strikes, US President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington he hopes the fighting "ends very quickly". US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely, adding that he will "continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution".
"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," the spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement, adding that Guterres called for "maximum restraint."
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, also called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace.
The minister stressed that listening to voices calling for dialogue and understanding is crucial to avoiding military escalation, consolidating stability in South Asia, and sparing the region from tensions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Air India told to fire 3 officials 'responsible for operational lapses'
The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has directed Air India to remove three officials "responsible for operational lapses" from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering. DGCA has also directed internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay, and that the outcome of such proceedings shall be reported back within 10 days, reported ANI.
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan
India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use, Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with Times of India on Saturday. India put into "abeyance" its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, after 26 civilians were killed in Kashmir in what Delhi described as an act of terror. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80 per cent of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord remains dormant despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month following their worst fighting in decades. "No, it will never be restored," Shah told the daily. "We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably," Shah said, referring to the northwestern Indian state. The latest comments from Shah, the most powerful cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, have dimmed Islamabad's hopes for negotiations on the treaty in the near term. Last month, Reuters reported that India plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of retaliatory action. Pakistan's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. But it has said in the past that the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered "an act of war". Islamabad is also exploring a legal challenge to India's decision to hold the treaty in abeyance under international law.
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Look: PM Modi leads International Yoga Day celebrations in India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined thousands celebrating International Yoga Day around the country on June 21. Modi was seen participating in the event in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. The 11th International Yoga Day is being celebrated across the world with the theme of "Yoga for One Earth, One Health". The day has been celebrated across the world since 2015, after being proposed by India at the UN. Modi urged the international community to embrace "inner peace" as a "global policy" and make yoga a collective global responsibility. "Let every country and every society make yoga a shared responsibility, a common contribution toward collective well-being," Modi said. Let's take a look at photos of Yoga Day events from all over India: The event was held along the scenic Visakhapatnam coastline, with Indian Navy ships stationed near the shore, adding to the grandeur of the celebration. Modi was joined by lakhs of yoga enthusiasts, residents, and dignitaries from Andhra Pradesh.
