Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and Ceased fire

 

Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor:  

The 2025 Pahalgam incident occurred on April 22, 2025, when five armed terrorists attacked tourists in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir near Pahalgam, killing 26 civilians.   India has conducted a series of attacks on locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, two weeks after a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir.
According to the Indian defense ministry, the strikes, known as "Operation Sindoor," were a part of a "commitment" to make "accountable" those involved for the attack that killed 25 Indians and one Nepali person on April 22 in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, however, declared that the "heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished" and characterized the strikes as "unprovoked." Pakistan has denied any involvement in the incident.  On Wednesday, Sharif said that Pakistan was "accused for the wrong" reasons and that the Pahalgam incident "wasn't related" to his nation. Early on Wednesday morning, Delhi announced that nine distinct sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir had been hit. It said that these locations were "terrorist infrastructure"—areas where assaults were "planned and directed" It emphasized that its "actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature" and that it had not struck any military installations in Pakistan. 

Pakistan claimed that three distinct locations were affected in the immediate aftermath of the attacks: Bahawalpur in the Pakistani province of Punjab, and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif, Pakistan's military spokesperson, subsequently stated that six targets had been struck.

Khawaja Asif, Pakistan's defense minister, told GeoTV in the early hours of Wednesday that India's assertion that the strikes were "targeting terrorist camps" was untrue and that the strikes had affected civilian areas.

26 persons were killed in a militant attack on April 22; survivors claim the militants were specifically targeting Hindu men. 

 It was the first significant assault on civilians since India repealed Article 370, which granted Kashmir semi-autonomous status, in 2019 and the worst on residents in the area in 20 years.   After the ruling, there were protests in the area, but there was also a decline in militancy and a sharp rise in tourism.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the nation would search the suspects "till the ends of the Earth" and that those responsible for the deaths "will be punished beyond their imagination" in response to the immense outrage the killings have caused in India.

At first, though, India did not identify the group it thought was responsible for the Pahalgam attack.   However, Delhi accused Pakistan of aiding extremists, a claim Islamabad refutes, and Indian authorities claimed that two of the assailants were Pakistani nationals. It claims it is unrelated to the attacks on April 22.   Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri claimed on May 7 that the incident was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, which is based in Pakistan.   Both sides have taken tit-for-tat actions against one another in the two weeks that have passed, such as blocking border crossings, suspending visas, and dismissing ambassadors.  

 However, many anticipated that it would intensify into a cross-border attack, as demonstrated by the Pulwama attacks in 2019, which claimed the lives of 40 Indian paramilitary troops. 

Operation SINDOOR

Operation SINDOOR developed as a well-coordinated military reaction to a changing asymmetric warfare pattern that increasingly targets both military personnel and unarmed civilians. A sobering reminder of this change was the April 2025 terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam. India's reaction was calculated, accurate, and well-planned. Indian troops destroyed several threats and hit terrorist infrastructure without going across the Line of Control or the international border. But more noteworthy than tactical skill was the smooth incorporation of domestic high-tech systems into the country's defense. Operation SINDOOR is a turning point in India's military's transition to technical independence, whether in electronic warfare, drone warfare, or layered air defense.

Pakistan tried to use drones and missiles to attack several military targets in Northern and Western India on the evening of May 07–08, 2025, including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj.  The Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid and Air Defense systems eliminated them.

India began Operation Sindoor, a major military operation, in May 2025 in response to a terrorist attack that killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The goal of the operation was to destroy the operational capacities of organizations like as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed by targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). 

Context: The Attack on Pahalgam

26 persons were killed in a terrorist attack at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The attack was attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba's affiliate, the Resistance Front (TRF). Tensions between the two nations increased after India considered Pakistan responsible for aiding cross-border terrorism.

 Operation Sindoor's execution 

The Indian Armed Forces began Operation Sindoor early on May 7, 2025, carrying out pinpoint strikes on nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and PoJK. Advanced weapons were used in the operation, such as BrahMos cruise missiles, SkyStriker loitering munitions, and Rafale planes fitted with SCALP missiles and AASM Hammer glide bombs. The potential of escalation was reduced because the strikes were carried out without Indian planes entering Pakistani airspace. India's ability to carry out accurate military operations against terrorist infrastructure outside of its boundaries was shown during Operation Sindoor. The employment of domestic weaponry demonstrated the defense industry's advancement under the "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) initiative.

Reactions at Home and Abroad 

In India, the operation was warmly hailed by the populace and government authorities, who showed their support for the military. The operation was viewed as a reasonable response to terrorism, and India's right to self-defense was recognized internationally.

It's interesting to note that the Indian Army was able to resist every invasion from Pakistan. India's economic and human losses were modest because of the Indian Army's vigilance. 

The weakness of Pakistan's HQ-9 air defense system was also exposed by India's operation. On May 9 and 10, 2025, India successfully attacked Pakistan's air bases, making history. In only three hours following the Pakistani assault, India bombed 11 Pakistani military locations. Rafiki, Murid, Sukkur, Sialkot, Pasrur, Chunian, Sargodha, Sakard, Bholari, Jacobabad, and Noor Khan were among them.

India published real-time satellite footage of these assaults. These images were of Jacobabad's Shahbaz Air Base. One may sense the army's accomplishments when looking at these pictures. 

Fighter jets such as the F-16 and F-17 have been stationed at Pakistani air stations Sargodha and Bholari. About 20% of the Pakistani Air Force's infrastructure has been destroyed by these Indian attacks.

On Wednesday, May 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that the inquiry into the Pahalgam terror assault has revealed the communication channels between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan. 

Misri also emphasized that India had warned the UN's monitoring body as early as 2023 that the group claiming responsibility was a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) during a press briefing hours after "Operation Sindoor," which involved India's military strikes against "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

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India claimed that the aerial intrusions may have been carried out to "test air defense systems" during a joint press conference with Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. However, an initial analysis of the drone debris brought by India revealed that the drones were Turkish Asisguard Songar drones.

Pakistan used intense artillery bombardment along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) throughout the night of May 9 and May 10, raising fears of several casualties in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan targeted the Rajouri area bordering the LoC in Jammu with heavy artillery fire, killing a top government official. Overnight shelling in Rajouri also reportedly killed a 35-year-old man and a little daughter from Bihar.

Pakistan attacks homes belonging to the Sikh community in J&K and a Gurdwara in Poonch.  There have been reported deaths, including the Gurdwara's religious musician. Using mortar and heavy-caliber artillery, Pakistan also intensifies unprovoked shooting across the Line of Control in the J&K, India, sectors of Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri.  By May 8, this causes 59 injuries and 16 civilian fatalities in India.

On 10th May. 2025 Pakistan has been intensifying and agitating India over the past few days, and this has resumed early on Saturday as well, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a press briefing at 10.30 a.m.  During the press briefing, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofia Qureshi stated that Pakistan was also using "multiple threat vectors" to target both military and civilian facilities throughout the Western border.  Although India was able to contain the damage from 26 attempted air intrusions, certain troops and equipment at the air force facilities in Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur, and Bhuj suffered some damage.

Ceasefire - May 10

US President Donald Trump declared today (May 10) that India and Pakistan have reached an agreement on a “full and immediate ceasefire” following a tense four-day military standoff that involved drone and missile strikes. 

Most people were relieved by his remark, which was quickly echoed by officials in Islamabad and New Delhi. However, other people were also alarmed. However, the fragility of this US-mediated peace attempt was brought to light by explosions heard throughout the Kashmir valley as darkness fell on the subcontinent.

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE," Trump wrote on Truth Social at approximately 7:55 a.m. eastern time.  He commended both nations for applying "Great Intelligence and Common Sense."

 Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, M. Ishaq Dar, posted on X that the neighbors had "agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect," confirming the truce in a swift manner.

The two nations have "worked out an understanding on stoppage of firing and military action," according to a later post by S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs. India has continuously maintained a strong and unyielding stance against terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, he noted. It will keep doing so. 

Interestingly, neither Jaishankar's remarks nor India's previous declaration by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri admitted that the US had mediated the truce. But in a State Department statement, Washington clearly referred to it as a “US-brokered ceasefire”.

He wrote on X, "We have accepted this outcome in the interest of regional peace and stability, and we appreciate the United States for facilitating it."  "As a responsible nation, we have responded positively for the suggestion of a ceasefire," he stated in a speech to the nation at 1135 IST.  "We are hopeful that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and all outstanding issues will be resolved through negotiations," he said, thanking Trump, "who played a vital role in the ceasefire," as well as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has refrained from making public remarks regarding Operation Sindoor since its inception, also said nothing about the deal that India and Pakistan came to.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first address to the nation after US President Donald Trump said he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, said that India had inflicted so much damage on Pakistan’s air bases and military establishments that its DGMO, on the afternoon of May 10, called up his Indian counterpart to ensure the Indian military would not take further action.

Modi also said that no “nuclear blackmail will be tolerated anymore” and reiterated his government’s stated policy that “talks and terror cannot go hand in hand”.

Modi's speech followed widespread online and offline protests against the ceasefire announcement from a sizable portion of his supporters.  Even Vikram Misri, the foreign secretary who led the government briefings and provided details of Operation Sindoor throughout the four-day stalemate, was so severely mocked by his supporters that he was forced to keep his X handle confidential.

During Modi's speech, US President Donald Trump also stated that he has warned India and Pakistan that unless the escalation stops, the US will not be doing business with any nation.  He also asserted that he had prevented nuclear war.

Although such mediation was not mentioned in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first speech to the country following US President Donald Trump's assertion that he had mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, opposition parties have questioned his silence on Trump's claims.  Given India's long-standing policy of no third-party mediation after the Simla Agreement, opposition parties have questioned if the truce was the product of US mediation.

Opposition parties have called for answers on why Modi said nothing in response to Trump's allegations, whether India had altered its long-standing policy of bilateral dispute resolution and no third-party mediation, and whether the US president's assertions that commerce was being used to settle the conflict were accurate.

The opposition's demand for a special session of parliament was reaffirmed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby in a letter to Modi. He also stated that the ceasefire announcement, which was initially made by Trump on Saturday night without any Indian officials' involvement, "has raised serious concerns." 

Our nation has made it a stated policy to resolve disagreements amicably, without the involvement of a third party. Therefore, the highest echelons of our government must provide a clear and authoritative explanation of this circumstance," he wrote in his letter.

On the evening of May 12, Narendra Modi appeared on television and informed the public that Pakistan had pleaded for a ceasefire and that India had given in since it had already destroyed terrorist infrastructure and Islamabad had pledged to behave going forward. 

During a press meeting at the White House, Donald Trump said that he had threatened to halt commerce with Pakistan and India if they did not accept a truce, and they did. At first, he characterized both nations as "unwavering." "C'mon," I said. We will engage in a great deal of trading with you all. Let us put an end to it. Stop it, and we'll trade.

On Thursday, May 15, Kunwar Vijay Shah, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed a case in the Supreme Court contesting the Madhya Pradesh high court's judgment that ordered him to be held accountable for his comments about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.