SEOUL, May 08 (AJP) - India explained Wednesday that its recent airstrikes on targets in Pakistan and the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir were aimed at dismantling terrorist networks linked to last month’s deadly attack on civilians in the Kashmir valley.
The strikes, carried out early on May 7 under what the government has dubbed “Operation Sindoor,” came in response to an attack on April 22 in the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. Gunmen opened fire on a group of unarmed tourists, killing 26 people, including one Nepali national, and wounding several others.
Authorities described the killings as unusually brutal, with several victims reportedly shot at close range. It was the deadliest attack on civilians in the region in over two decades and came during a time when tourism in Kashmir had reached record highs, with more than 23 million visitors last year.
Indian officials have blamed the assault on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based group banned by the United Nations, and said a lesser-known outfit called The Resistance Front (TRF), which later claimed responsibility, was acting as a front for the larger organization.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the attack was intended to disrupt the region’s return to normalcy and economic recovery, and that Indian intelligence had identified cross-border communications linking the attackers to handlers in Pakistan.
India maintains that its strikes were focused and restrained, targeting only what it described as terrorist infrastructure while avoiding military sites. Misri called the operation proportionate and consistent with an April 25 statement by the UN Security Council urging accountability for the Pahalgam killings.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the April 22 attack and condemned India’s actions as unprovoked aggression. Islamabad reported civilian casualties and claimed its forces had downed multiple Indian aircraft, though Delhi has not commented on those claims. Pakistan has also accused India of using the incident to justify a breach of its sovereignty.
The escalation has renewed long-standing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought multiple wars and remain in dispute over Kashmir. The UN, the European Union, and several governments have called on both sides to exercise restraint and return to diplomatic dialogue.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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