At least three innocent civilians were killed when the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing and artillery shelling across the Line of Control (Loc) and the International Border (IB) opposite Jammu and Kashmir, said the Indian Army on Wednesday morning, May 7. The Indian Army Spokesperson said that “arbitrary” and “indiscriminate,” led to civilian casualties and created panic in several border villages. “Three innocent civilians lost their lives in indiscriminate firing/shelling,” the Indian Army said, adding that it was responding “in a proportionate manner.”
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This comes just a few hours after India launched nine attacks on terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (Pok) under the 'Operation Sindoor' in retaliation for the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people on April 22. Indian missile strikes had hit three locations - Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and the Ahmed East area of Bahawalpur.
Meanwhile, loud explosions just after midnight near Muzaffarabad in PoK, followed by a citywide blackout. Following this, under pressure, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that Pakistan is delivering a "forceful response" to what he described as an act of war.
India's Ministry of Defence confirmed that the strikes were part of "Operation Sindoor," targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The ministry stated, "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted."