Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff
H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Asia
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply following Indian air strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday morning. The strikes come in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that claimed the lives of 26 civilians.
According to India's military, the air strikes were targeted operations aimed at dismantling infrastructure linked to Pakistan-based militant groups allegedly responsible for the recent attack. Delhi has accused Islamabad of providing tacit support to these groups an accusation that Pakistan has repeatedly denied.
In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, residents were jolted awake by the sound of explosions. Mohammed Waheed, a local resident, described the scene as chaotic: “Before we could even process what was happening, more missiles struck, causing widespread panic. Children were crying, women were running around, trying to find safety.”
Waheed said four missiles hit an educational complex in the Nangal Sahadan suburb, destroying part of the Bilal Mosque and damaging nearby facilities including a school and a medical clinic. "We prayed at that mosque every day. There was never any suspicious activity,” he added.
Pakistani officials confirmed that eight civilians were killed and at least 35 others injured in the strikes. Among the damaged buildings were mosques and residential areas, raising serious concerns about civilian casualties.
India, meanwhile, reported that at least seven civilians were killed on its side of the Line of Control (LoC) due to retaliatory Pakistani shelling. In India’s Poonch district, Ruby Kaur, a local woman, was reportedly killed by a mortar shell while making tea for her ailing husband. “The shrapnel hit her head. We rushed her to the hospital, but she was declared dead,” her uncle, Buava Singh, told the BBC.
Local officials on both sides of the LoC have described widespread fear and displacement. “People couldn’t sleep the entire night.
They were abandoning homes and looking for shelter,” said Dr. Zamrood Mughal, a resident of Poonch. India’s Ministry of Defence described the operation as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” emphasizing that only verified terrorist targets were hit. However, the presence of civilian casualties and damage to religious structures has prompted widespread criticism and concern from international observers and humanitarian organizations.
Muhammad Younis Shah, another resident of Muzaffarabad, recounted the damage in his neighborhood: “It’s terrifying. People are fleeing, terrified of what may come next. The fear is overwhelming.”
As rescue operations continue and both governments trade accusations, the international community has called for restraint. Analysts warn that further escalation could destabilize an already volatile region, with civilians on both sides caught in the crossfire.
The situation remains tense as the world watches to see whether diplomacy or confrontation will shape the next chapter in the long-standing conflict over Kashmir.
