Dozens killed after India fires missiles into Pakistani territory
Pakistan responds with artillery fire, as country's PM calls India strikes 'act of war'
India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory in several locations early Wednesday, as the overall death toll increased to 31 people in what Pakistan's leader called an act of war. India also claims there are casualties from Pakistani fire in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.
India said it was striking infrastructure used by militants linked to last month's massacre of tourists in its portion of Kashmir. At least seven people died in Indian-controlled Kashmir from artillery exchanges.
Pakistan said at least 26 people died in the missile strikes and five from artillery exchanges along the Line of Control that separates the two countries in the contested Kashmir region.
Pakistan claimed it shot down several Indian aircraft in retaliation, including three top-line fighter jets. Two planes fell onto villages in India-controlled Kashmir. One fell in northern Punjab state. At least seven civilians were also killed in the region by Pakistani shelling, the Indian army said in a statement.
Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbours since an attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, at a popular meadow in Kashmir.
India has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, something Islamabad has denied.
Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by each, has been at the centre of tensions for decades and they have fought two wars over it.
'Escalation risks are real': analyst
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Wednesday's airstrikes and said the "deceitful enemy has carried out cowardly attacks," and that his country would retaliate.
"Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given," Sharif said.
The country's National Security Committee met Wednesday, while in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special meeting of his security officials.
South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said it was one the highest-intensity strikes from India on its rival in years.
"These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizable levels of conventional military force against each other," Kugelman said. "The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly."
Several Indian states planned civil defence drills later Wednesday, according to India's Home Ministry, to train civilians and security personnel to respond in case of any "hostile attacks." Such drills in India are rare in non-crisis times.
Indian politicians from different political parties lauded the strikes. "Victory to Mother India," Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote on X.
India's main opposition Congress party called for national unity and said it was "extremely proud" of the country's army.
"We applaud their resolute resolve and courage," Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
India describes strikes as 'measured'
The missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country's eastern Punjab province, killing at least 26 people including women and children, said Pakistan's military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif.
Officials said another 38 people were injured by the strikes.
Sharif said the Indian jets also damaged infrastructure at a dam in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, calling it a violation of international norms.
India's Defence Ministry said at least nine sites were targeted "where terrorist attacks against India have been planned."
"Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted," the statement said.
The initial attack in Kashmir was claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself Kashmir Resistance.
Pakistani officials said the strikes hit at least two sites previously tied to banned militant groups.
One hit the Subhan Mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, killing 13 people including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital.
The mosque is near a seminary that once served as the central office of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group outlawed in 2002. Officials say the group has had no operational presence at the site since the ban.
Muhammad Sabir, who lives nearby, said he heard three or four explosions and then ran to a nearby field with his family and laid down.
Another missile hit a mosque in Muridke, damaging its structure. A sprawling building located nearby served as the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba until 2013, when Pakistan banned the group and arrested its founder.
In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as the blast ripped through houses and he saw people running in panic. Authorities immediately cut power to the area.
Locals later inspected the damage to their homes in the aftermath of the missile attacks, rubble and other debris crunching underfoot.
People took refuge on the streets and in open areas, fearful of what might happen. "We were afraid the next missile might hit our house," said Mohammad Ashraf.
Authorities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have declared an emergency in the region's hospitals.
Pakistan shut schools in Kashmir and Punjab province after the missile strikes. It had earlier closed seminaries in Kashmir in anticipation of an attack by India.
UN, China for calm
Along the Line of Control, there were heavy exchanges of fire.
The Indian police and medics said seven civilians were killed and 30 wounded by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district near the highly militarized LoC. Officials said several homes also were damaged in the shelling.
The Indian army said Pakistani troops "resorted to arbitrary firing," including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the frontier.
Shortly after India's strikes, aircraft fell in two villages in India-controlled Kashmir.
Sharif, the Pakistani military spokesperson, said the country's air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation for the strikes.
Another aircraft fell in an open field in the village of Bhardha Kalan, close to the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir shortly after the strikes.
Resident Sachin Kumar said he heard massive blasts, followed by a huge ball of fire. Kumar said he and several other villagers rushed to the scene and found two injured pilots. Both were later taken away by the Indian army.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Tuesday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for maximum military restraint from both countries.
"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," it read.
China's Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement called on the two countries "to prioritize peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, and avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation."
Beijing is the largest investor in Pakistan by far, with a $65-billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor project that spans across the country. China, meanwhile, also has multiple border claims disputed with India, with one of those claims in the northeastern part of the Kashmir region.
With files from CBC News and Reuters