2025 India–Pakistan conflict
A brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan began on 7 May 2025, after India launched missile strikes on Pakistan, in a military campaign codenamed Operation Sindoor. India said that the operation was in response to the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025 in which 26 civilians were killed. India accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, which Pakistan denied.
On 7 May, India launched Operation Sindoor with missile strikes on terrorism-related infrastructure facilities of Pakistan-based militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, and said that no Pakistani military or civilian facilities were targeted. According to Pakistan, the Indian strikes hit civilian areas, including mosques, and resulted in civilian casualties. Following these strikes, there were border skirmishes and drone strikes between the two countries. Pakistan's army retaliated on 7 May, by launching a blitz of mortar shells on Jammu, particularly Poonch, which killed civilians, and damaged homes and religious sites. This conflict marked the first drone battle between the two nuclear-armed nations.
In the early hours of 10 May, India accused Pakistan of launching missile attacks on Indian air bases including the Sirsa air base while Pakistan accused India of launching attacks on several Pakistan air bases, including Nur Khan air base, Rafiqi air base, and Murid air base. As conflict escalated on 10 May, Pakistan launched its Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, in which it said it had targeted several Indian military bases, including Udhampur air base, Pathankot air base and Adampur air base.
After the four-day military conflict, both India and Pakistan announced that a ceasefire had been agreed after a hotline communication between their DGMOs on 10 May 2025. US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held extensive correspondence with both Indian and Pakistani officials during the negotiations. The ceasefire has been holding, with resumed commercial flights and normalcy reported from both countries.
Background
The Kashmir conflict, ongoing since 1947, has fuelled multiple wars and skirmishes between India and Pakistan over the disputed region.On 22 April 2025, a terrorist attack by five armed terrorists near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists. The Resistance Front, a militant faction of the Pakistan-based, UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, operating in Indian-administered Kashmir, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but later denied responsibility, saying that the earlier claim was the result of a coordinated hacking, and attributed the breach to Indian authorities. Pakistan alleged that the Pahalgam attack was a "false flag operation" orchestrated by India.
India announced a series of retaliatory measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, prompting responsive measures and leading to a diplomatic crisis and border skirmishes. India and Pakistan also closed their airspaces for each other's airlines.
According to AirForces Monthly, on 29 April, four Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft departed from Ambala Air Force Station on a mission to bomb terrorist targets in the north but aborted and diverted to Srinagar Air Force Station due to an electronic warfare jamming claimed by PAF. As described by the magazine, following this failed attack, and before 6 May, the IAF redeployed up to 20 Rafale aircraft from Hasimara Air Force Station to Gwalior, Ambala, Srinagar, and Nal Air Force Station in Rajasthan. Several S-400 missile system surface-to-air missile batteries were also repositioned to Adampur, Bhuj, and Bikaner. During late April and early May, the IAF mobilised around 400 aircraft, with its transport fleet conducting more than 500 sorties. On 30 April, Pakistan said that a military strike by India was imminent.
Timeline
7 May
India announced that it had launched missile and air strikes, codenamed Operation Sindoor, targeting nine sites across Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir and Pakistan's Punjab province. Indian military spokespeople said that the missile strikes targeted infrastructure linked to the terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, and that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted, with the locations selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure. The Indian government described the strikes as "focused, measured, and non-escalatory".The Indian air strikes triggered an aerial battle in which more than 114 aircraft, 72 from the IAF and 42 from the PAF, were involved in what was described as the largest beyond visual range engagement on the India–Pakistan border. Neither Pakistani nor Indian aircraft crossed the border, engaging instead in a "stand-off" conflict at a distance of more than 100 km at times. According to a senior PAF officer, the engagement lasted approximately 52 minutes. Pakistan claimed that three Dassault Rafales, one MiG-29, one Su-30MKI fighter jet, and one Israeli-manufactured IAI Heron UAV belonging to the Indian Air Force were shot down.
The Pakistani government condemned the Indian strikes as an "act of war" that resulted in civilian casualties. Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the National Security Council to coordinate retaliatory strikes. The NSC declared that Pakistan "reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing." Sharif gave the Pakistani army, under Asim Munir, the right to respond in any way needed.
According to India, Pakistani cross-border artillery shelling and small arms firing increased following the Indian attacks, including in the regions of Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri and Akhnoor, located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani shelling of Poonch town and its vicinity killed at least 11 people and damaged an Islamic school along with numerous homes. According to The News Minute, the casualties included a Sikh ragi. Pakistan said that the Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant had been damaged by Indian shelling following the initial Indian strikes.
8 May
On 8 May, India said that Pakistan had launched drone and missile strikes on several Indian cities, including Amritsar, and that India negated these strikes by the S-400 missile system at Adampur Air Force Station, marking India's first combat use of the missile system. Pakistan denied launching drone and missile strikes on India. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar claimed that the Indian Army had intentionally carried out a false flag attack on the Indian city of Amritsar, blaming it on Pakistan in order to generate domestic support. The Pakistani military spokesperson also claimed that Indian drones headed towards Nankana Sahib were brought down. The claim was denied by India and described as false by Indian media. Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri dismissed these as a "deranged fantasy" and an attempt by Pakistan to hide its own actions.The Indian Armed Forces said that in response to the Pakistani attack, they had carried out SEAD/DEAD operations, neutralizing Pakistani air defence systems in Lahore. Pakistani authorities said that several Indian drones intruded in Pakistani airspace, and 12 Indian drones were shot down. As per Pakistan, these drones were sent into nine different locations including the cities of Karachi and Lahore, and one of the drones struck a Pakistani military facility near Lahore. The Pakistani military later claimed to have shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions in its territory. India admitted to one being taken down. A drone also landed near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium complex before the start of a Pakistan Super League match, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board to postpone the game.
Later that day, India said that Pakistan had launched airstrikes directed in and around Jammu district including the airport and the university. All of the eight Pakistani missiles were claimed to have been intercepted by the S-400 missile system. Reportedly, multiple explosions were heard in Jammu along with an explosion in Jaisalmer, where drones and fighter jets were also reported. India later said that, these attacks involved 300–400 Turkish-Asisguard Songar drones targeting 36 sites, including civilian and military infrastructure. India also reported cross border firing by heavy calibre artillery guns along the Line of Control.
Reports termed this conflict as the "first drone war" between the "nuclear-armed neighbours" of South Asia.
9 May
The Pakistan Army claimed to have neutralised 77 Indian drones since 6 May.Exchanges of fire had stopped in the early morning. However, clashes restarted after "13 hours of relative calm". Exchanges of artillery fire began in Kashmir, including in, Kupwara, Poonch, Uri, and Samba along the LoC. According to the Indian Army, drones were reportedly sighted in 26 locations across a wide area from Baramulla in the north to Bhuj in the south, with at least one armed drone in Punjab; however, Pakistani officials dismissed the Indian accusations as "baseless and misleading", denying any offensive actions. India claimed that a Pakistani army post along the LoC was destroyed.
During a press briefing, Pakistan once again denied carrying out missile and drone strikes on Indian military installations and proposed a neutral third-party investigation into the 2025 Pahalgam attack, which it claimed was ignored by India. On 9 May, reports indicated that India had repositioned its Western Fleet, including an aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine warfare ships, in the northern Arabian Sea. According to an Indian defence source cited by The Daily Telegraph, the fleet was brought within operational range of Karachi, Pakistan's largest port city and the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy.