In a significant escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared that Pakistan will “take this war to the end” following India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’. The operation involved targeted military strikes on nine high-value terror infrastructure sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including locations associated with Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. (The Siasat Daily)
Addressing the nation, Sharif stated, “Pakistan will take revenge. We will take this war to the end. My Pakistani people, for your safety, our army and our people — we will always be united. Pakistan is most affected by terrorism.” (The Siasat Daily)
The National Security Committee of Pakistan has authorized the armed forces to retaliate “at a time, place, and manner of its choosing” in response to India’s strikes. (The Week)
India’s Operation Sindoor was launched as a direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, including a Nepali national. The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Indian military’s precision strikes targeted six key locations deep inside Pakistani territory, including Masjid SubhanAllah in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur Sharqia, believed to be a hideout of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. Other targets included facilities in Muridke, reportedly the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, as well as terror installations in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bagh. (The Siasat Daily)
India emphasized that Operation Sindoor was a “measured, calibrated and non-escalatory” response focused solely on neutralizing terror threats and avoiding civilian or military infrastructure.
