What you need to know
Map of strikes around Kashmir
Medics’ leave cancelled
Scheduled leave has been cancelled for all medical staff in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Mustafa Kamal, thehealth minister, said all doctors and nurses must “report to duty” immediately.
He said “urgent measures” had to be introduced in “response to the crisis”, according to the BBC.
Pakistan sends tanks to Kashmir
A column of Pakistani tanks has been pictured being transported closer to Kashmir on a road in Muridke, north of the city of Lahore.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has sworn to “avenge every last drop of unjust blood spilt of innocent civilians”.
Reports of panic buying
A traders’ federation in the city of Jammu, in Indian-administered Kashmir, has reactivated “war rooms” to distribute free rations and medicines to those in need as reports emerge of panic-buying.
“People are panic buying due to fear [of war], but there is absolutely no need to worry,” Deepak Gupta, the president of Jammu Traders’ Federation, said. “We have enough rations to last three months.”
Gupta also congratulated Delhi for “destroying … terror bases”.
Watch: Pakistan protests
‘Stop now,’ Trump orders
President Trump wants clashes between India and Pakistan to “stop now” and has offered to mediate in the crisis.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said that the crisis was “terrible”. “I know both very well and I want to see them work it out,” the president said. “I want to see them stop and hopefully they can stop now. They’ve gone tit-for-tat so hopefully they can stop now.”
Trump said that he had “good relationships with both” governments. “If I can do anything to help I’ll be there,” he said.
Pressure on Islamabad for ‘forceful’ response
A fellow at the Brookings Institution told The Times that “there will be significant pressure from the Pakistani public” for Islamabad’s response to be “forceful”.
“It’s hard to imagine an easy off-ramp now for these two nuclear-armed nations. They’ve entered extremely dangerous territory yet again,” Madiha Afzal added.
She said airstrikes targeting Pakistan’s Punjab province were a “clear escalation”.
“That’s what puts the greatest pressure on the Pakistani state to respond”, Afzal said.
Pakistan’s death toll rises
The Pakistani army says the death toll from India’s strikes has risen to 31. A further 57 people have been injured.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a military spokesman, said that one of the main reasons for the increase in casualties was India’s continued unprovoked firing on the Line of Control and other ceasefire violations.
Watch: Pakistan’s PM addresses the nation
India ‘will pay for every last drop of blood’
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has vowed that India will pay for “every last drop of blood” spilt in Tuesday night’s “cowardly” attacks. “Maybe they were thinking we would step back, but they forgot this is a nation of the brave,” he said in a televised address.
He said the Pakistani military “destroyed the planes of our attackers and enemies”, adding: “Our jets created such a storm in the sky that the enemy screamed.”
‘At least one Indian Rafale jet shot down’
At least one of the Indian Air Force fighter jets allegedly shot down by Pakistan overnight was a French Rafale, a high-ranking official in France has told CNN.
This would be the first time one of the advanced French-made warplanes had been lost in combat. Pakistan claimed earlier to have shot down five Indian jets, three of which were Rafales.
At the time of the last major clash between India and Pakistan — which are both nuclear powers — Delhi relied mostly on ageing Russian jets. India has since boosted its air force with 36 Rafales.
Pakistan’s PM to address the nation
The office of Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has announced he will address the nation within the next hour, following India’s overnight strikes.
‘Pakistan has not sought war. We are the aggrieved’
By Hugh Tomlinson
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and scion of the country’s most famous political dynasty, has accused India of concocting “a lie … to justify the mass murder of Pakistani civilians”.
The son of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister assassinated in 2007, and former president Asif Ali Zardari, said that the international community “must intervene” before the crisis escalated and destabilised the entire region.
“This is a potential global crisis between two nuclear armed neighbours,” Bhutto Zardari, 36, told Al Jazeera. “Pakistan has not sought war. We are the aggrieved, India is the aggressor but now that we have been attacked, we have the right to defend ourselves.”
He criticised the Indian government for failing to produce evidence linking Pakistan to the terrorist attack in Kashmir two weeks ago that triggered Tuesday night’s airstrikes.
“Pakistan is clear. Our hands are clean,” he said, calling for international pressure on the Modi government to ensure that “sanity prevails in Delhi”.
Modi cancels Victory Day trip to Moscow
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, had been expected to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade in Red Square, Moscow, but has cancelled the trip because of the escalating tensions with Pakistan, Indian media is reporting.
Almost 30 world leaders are expected in Moscow for Friday’s parade, marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, including President Xi of China and President Silva of Brazil.
The Kremlin is also expecting the leaders of Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Egypt and Myanmar — all long-standing partners of Russia — to attend. The heads of Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea will also be in Moscow.
In pictures: protests in Pakistan
EU trying to mediate
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, says the India-Pakistan situation is very concerning and that the EU is trying to mediate and reduce tensions.
Kallas was commenting before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Warsaw, Poland.
Concern over British cricketers
By Elizabeth Ammon
The England and Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers Association held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Kashmir, as several British players are in Pakistan and India. For now, players are not being advised to return home.
James Vince, Sam Billings, David Willey and Chris Jordan, who have all played for England, play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
There are about 15 English players, coaches (including Ravi Bopara, the former England batsman, and Alex Hartley, the former England Women bowler and BBC pundit) and media in Pakistan but the tournament only runs for another week and a half, and most teams have one or two group-stage games left.
This year’s PSL is taking place in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan.
India orders civil defence drills
India’s government ordered civil defence drills to be carried out across the country. Volunteers showed members of the public how to help the injured, find a safe place to hide and how to follow evacuation protocols for hospitals and schools.
The government released a video urging Indians to keep calm during a blackout — and to ensure that not a flicker of light was visible to any Pakistani aircraft overhead.
Indians have also been urged to stock up on medicines, candles, matches and non-perishable food and to keep the car tank full.
In Khan Market, onlookers seemed confused by the drill and many had no idea what it was for. “They are telling us to hide in basements but there are no basements in our buildings and running to the metro station will take too long,” said Akash Gupta, a café owner.
Alex Balakrishnan, 28, thought of booking a flight to escape to his second home in Kerala in the south.
“But I delayed on account of not wanting to leave my pets and by Wednesday afternoon, flights were being cancelled and escape was no longer possible,” he said.
Anti-India protests erupt across Pakistan
Protests erupted across several cities of Pakistan where protesters chanted slogans such as “down with India” and carried placards criticising Modi.
In the city of Sindh, some demonstrators burned an Indian flag.
In Karachi, Abdul Rehman, a student, said: “We are protesting against Indian aggression, they killed our civilians in the cities and our armed forces had shot down their five jets. We are backing our army and we will retaliate against every act of India.”
US key to resolving tensions, Hunt says
Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor who was foreign secretary in 2019 when relations between the two countries last flared up, told Andrew Neil that America was vital in calming tensions.
“I think what is different to last time is that last time, Trump administration officials, John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, got involved to try and stop the confrontation and to ease things”, he said on Times Radio.
“But President Trump, second time round, has got a lot of other things on his mind and in particular, he wants to have a very close relationship with India, who he’s trying to prise away from China. So it’ll be interesting to see if the Americans choose to get involved in the same way this time.”
Taliban urges dialogue not escalation
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has warned India and Pakistan that further escalation was not “in the interest of the region”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the social media platform X that “it urges both sides to exercise restraint and resolve their issues through dialogue and diplomacy”.
Relations between the Taliban government and neighbouring Pakistan have been strained over security concerns and Islamabad’s deportation campaign which has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans since the beginning of April.
The Taliban, who returned to power in Kabul in the summer of 2021, have in contrast developed closer ties with Delhi, even though India does not recognise their government.
‘Time for religious communities to come together’
The Foreign Officer minister, Hamish Falconer, told MPs called for unity in the UK in the face of the escalating tensions in south Asia.
Falconer said: “The British Pakistani and British Indian communities make a huge contribution to this country. We recognise this will be a difficult time for many.
“We look to all community and faith leaders to spread a message that now is a time for coming together across religious and ethnic differences.
“We now need to see calm heads. Britain will continue to play our full part in de-escalation and diplomacy.”
‘Heartbreaking’ to see civilians killed, UK minister says
The Foreign Office minister, Hamish Falconer, described “civilian lives being lost” in the conflict as “heartbreaking”.
He told the Commons: “This is an incredibly delicate moment in an evolving and fast-moving situation.
“The government has been monitoring the situation closely, and staying in close contact with all of the key partners. Since the developments overnight, the foreign secretary has been in contact with both the Indian external affairs minister Jaishankar and the Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister Dar.
“Our high commissioners in Delhi and Islamabad have also been in close contact with their hosts, and I met this morning with the Pakistani finance minister Aurangzeb.”
How we got here
If you need a succinct explanation of the forces driving India and Pakistan towards conflict, our World in 10 podcast spoke last week to the South Asia expert Michael Kugelman. Listen to the ten-minute explainer:
Lammy appeals for restraint
India and Pakistan must “show restraint and engage in direct dialogue”, David Lammy has said.
The British foreign secretary said: “Current tensions between India and Pakistan are a serious concern. The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward.
“The UK has close and unique relationships with both countries. I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins. The UK was clear in its condemnation of the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month. We need all sides to work urgently to see regional stability restored and ensure protection of civilians.
“The safety of British nationals in the region will always be our priority. The FCDO continues to monitor developments closely and stands ready to support any British nationals 24/7. Any British nationals in the region should follow the FCDO’s travel advice for the country they are in, along with the advice of the local authorities.”
‘We will respond decisively’
Aqeel Malik, Pakistan’s justice minister, has told The Times, that India “violated” Pakistan’s sovereignty and Islamabad will defend itself.
“We will respond decisively, especially since they have targeted our women and children,” Malik said.
EU calls for negotiated solution
The European Union has called on India and Pakistan to act immediately to de-escalate tensions after the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours in two decades.
“We do urge both sides to show restraint and take immediate steps towards de-escalation,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni.
“The EU recalls the need for a negotiated, agreed and lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict.”
Starmer: Serious concern over rising tensions
Sir Keir Starmer called for India and Pakistan to take steps to ease the “rising tensions” following the exchanges in Kashmir.
The prime minister said that the UK was hoping for “dialogue, de-escalation and the protection of civilians”.
At PMQs, Starmer said: “Rising tensions between India and Pakistan will be of serious concern for many across Britain.
“We are engaging urgently with both countries as well as other international partners, encouraging dialogue, de-escalation and the protection of civilians.”
India will pay for ‘attacks on civilians’, Pakistan warns
Pakistan’s defence minister has told The Times that India’s attack “will not go unanswered”.
“Those responsible for such a cowardly act will be held accountable. All the locations they targeted were civilian areas,” Khawaja Muhammad Asif said.
He added: “Their claims of attacking terrorist camps are completely unfounded and a pack of lies. Our forces have already retaliated by shooting down five of their jets and a combat drone. Do not underestimate Pakistan’s response; it will be more significant than their actions.”
Asif claimed that more than 25 civilians, “including at least four children, lost their lives in the Indian strikes. Modi’s political motivations compelled him to take this action”.
Who has a stronger military?
India’s armed forces are more than double the size of Pakistan’s and its military spending far outweighs that of its neighbour.
Its defence budget last year stood at $74.4 billion, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. That makes it the world’s sixth largest overall behind the US ($968 billion), China, Russia, Germany and the UK ($81 billion). By comparison Pakistan’s defence budget was about $10 billion.
India also has the second largest armed forces in Asia, with more than 1,475,000 active military personnel, compared to 660,000 for Pakistan, and a larger troop reserve. It is also significantly better equipped, with about 10,000 pieces of artillery, 3,750 tanks and 720 aircraft.
However both Pakistan and India hold similar arsenals of nuclear weapons, with about 170 nuclear warheads each, according to the Arms Control Association.
India has a far larger population, at 1.46 billion compared to 255 million in Pakistan.
Hundreds of flights cancelled
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled following India’s strikes on Pakistan overnight, which also caused the diversion of dozens of passenger planes.
Pakistan’s military said that the missile attack posed a threat to international traffic and claimed that 57 flights were operating within Pakistani airspace at the time.
The prime minister’s office said India’s actions had caused “grave danger” to commercial airlines, “endangering the lives of thousands”.
The flightradar24 tracking website said that 430 flights had been cancelled in India and 147 in Pakistan as of 10.30am UK time.
Several planes heading to the UK were delayed, apparently as a result of being diverted or rerouted away from the area, including a British Airways flight from Delhi to London and a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to London.
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We have a right to self-defence, Pakistan says
Pakistan has asserted its right to self-defence “in consonance with Article 51 of the UN Charter”.
It said any response would be “at a time, place and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty”.
Pakistan’s armed forces had been “authorised to undertake corresponding actions in this regard”.
It also called on the world to “recognise the gravity of India’s unprovoked illegal actions and to hold it accountable for its blatant violations of international norms and laws”.
Pakistan authorises armed forces to hit back
Pakistan’s national security committee has said its armed forces had been authorised to respond to the Indian strikes.
The committee, chaired by the Pakistani prime minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, met on Wednesday morning to discuss the overnight missile attack.
In a statement issued by Sharif’s office, the committee said: “The deliberate targeting of civilians, including innocent women and children, by the Indian military constitutes a heinous and shameful crime that is in violation of all norms of human behaviour and the provisions of international law.”
It rejected India’s claims to have targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, describing the areas hit as “imaginary terrorist camps”, and said the attacks were “a blatant violation of its sovereignty”.
India: Precision strikes ‘delivered justice’ for terror victims
India’s military has given further details about the airstrikes. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, an Indian army officer, said the missile strikes started at 1.05 am and lasted for about 25 minutes.
She said no military installations were targeted.
The strikes, she claimed, were designed “to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families”.
Another officer, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, said the strikes were undertaken through “precision capability” so that there was “no collateral damage”.
“India has demonstrated considerable restraint in its response,” she said. “However, it must be said that the Indian armed forces are fully prepared respond to Pakistani misadventures … that will escalate the situation.”
Modi postpones trip to Europe
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has postponed a trip to Norway, Croatia and the Netherlands, following the escalation overnight, Delhi has announced.
His overseas visits were scheduled to start next week.
Turkey: India risking war with provocative strikes
Turkey has accused India of risking “all-out war” following the overnight airstrikes.
“The attack carried out last night by India runs the risk of an all-out war,” the foreign ministry in Ankara said.
“We condemn this provocative initiative as well as the attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Civilians retreat to bunkers as clashes continue
Locals living near border areas have started to move to bunkers as tensions escalate.
Approximately 1.5 million people live near the ceasefire line in the Pakistani side of Kashmir.
“We have been victims of cross-border firing for decades, we always face difficulties whenever tensions emerge between India and Pakistan. We have been living in the bunkers for the past week. We want to protect our children,” Muhammad Sajid, a 50 -year-old shopkeeper, told The Times from Chakothi village, two miles from the Line of Control.
Kulsoom Bibi, 42, a housewife from Chakothi, added: “People are panicking and there are rumours that an attack will happen at any night. We are concerned about the safety of our children, and they are not going to school as the situation could deteriorate at any time.”
Trump: I hope fighting ends very quickly
President Trump said he hoped that the conflict between India and Pakistan “ends very quickly”.
Asked about the overnight missile strikes by India, he told reporters at the White House: “It’s a shame, we just heard about it.”
Trump continued: “I guess people knew something was going to happen, based on a little bit of the past. They have been fighting a long time, for many, many decades, and centuries actually if you think about it. No, I just hope it ends very quickly.”
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has spoken to security officials in both Delhi and Islamabad since the strikes and said he was monitoring the situation “closely”.
• Will Trump help India and Pakistan pull back from brink of war?
Pakistan retaliating for ‘cowardly’ strikes
Pakistan “won’t take long to settle the score” following India’s attack, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, the Pakistani defence minister, has said.
Asif described the overnight missile strikes as a “cowardly act” and told the AFP news agency that the retaliation “has already started”.
He also accused India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, of launching the missile strikes to “shore up” his popularity at home.
In later comments on TV on Wednesday morning, Asif suggested the situation could be resolved if India backed down. He said: “This has been initiated by India. We have to defend ourselves. But if India backs down, we will definitely wrap up this tension.”
Indian strikes ‘wider and deeper’ than previous operations
The overnight strikes differ from earlier Indian attacks against Pakistan.
Never before has India targeted nine places simultaneously, nor has it gone as far previously into Pakistan territory as it did this time, retired army officer Satish Dua told The Times.
One of the sites that India hit is in the town of Bahawalpur, 60 miles west of the Indian states of Rajasthan and Punjab. This is the furthest India has attacked inside Pakistan since 1971.
The question in India is now not whether Pakistan will retaliate but when and where. The hope is that Pakistan’s response will be measured and not designed to provoke all out war.
Many retired generals say retaliation is inevitable because Pakistan needs it as a face-saving measure domestically, said Dua.
10 relatives of Pakistani terror chief killed in strike
Ten relatives of Maulana Masood Azhar, a UN-designated terrorist, were killed during India’s attack on Pakistan.
They died after a strike on the Subhan Allah Mosque in Bahawalpur, the Pakistan-based militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) said in a statement.
Azhar heads the JEM, which carried out a suicide bombing in Kashmir six years ago, killing 40 Indian troops. Four other people, including three close aides to Azhar, were also killed.
5 dead in artillery exchanges, Pakistan says
Reports in Kashmir claim that troops from both India and Pakistan have exchanged fire on the ground on Wednesday, despite worldwide calls for restraint.
Troops opened fire with artillery across the contested border.
Pakistani officials said that five people had been killed following artillery exchange along the Line of Control that separates the two countries in Kashmir.
Why is Kashmir important to India and Pakistan?
Kashmir stirs the passions of hundreds of millions of Pakistanis and Indians on the subcontinent and beyond.
Behind the emotion there is cold strategic logic, but the inseparability of emotion and strategy is why the two countries are never more than one crisis away from war.
Kashmir covers roughly 86,000 square miles and is divided between Pakistan, India and China, but only Pakistan and India claim the whole territory. It is home to about 16.3 million people.
• Read in full: India-Pakistan war? It depends whether they follow head or heart
Russia ‘deeply concerned about confrontation’
Moscow has said it is “deeply concerned about the escalation of military confrontation between India and Pakistan”.
A statement from the Russian foreign ministry called on both sides “to exercise restraint in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the region”.
Russia has good relations with both countries.
Daughter of Kashmir attack victim praises Indian strikes
The daughter of one of the 26 victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack last month has saluted the Indian armed forces for avenging their deaths, claiming it was a “relief and comfort”. Arathi, who goes by only one name, saw her father shot dead in front of her during the killings in Kashmir.
“We have been waiting for this day,” she told The Indian Express. “Now, there is a sense of relief and comfort. There is a feeling that justice was done.”
“Let them [the Kashmir attackers] understand that not all Indian women are going to live shedding tears. We have a country and system to give a fitting reply to them.”
Pakistan ‘has shot down 5 Indian fighter jets’
Five Indian fighter jets were shot down in response to the overnight strikes, according to the Pakistani military.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, an army spokesman, said the aircraft were downed from within Pakistani airspace. He claimed that they included three French-made Rafale fighter planes as well as a SU-30 and a MiG-29, which are both Russian-made jets. India has not yet responded to the claims.
There have been reports that two of the planes fell on to villages in India-controlled Kashmir, while a third fell into a field in the northern Indian state of Punjab.
Chaudry said: “All of these engagements have been done as a defensive measure. We will take all the steps necessary for defending the honour, integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan, at all cost.”
Pakistan has informed the UN Security Council that it reserves the right to respond to the Indian strikes, which it called a “blatant act of war”.
‘Loud explosions’ after Indian warplane crashes
Residents in a village close to the city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir have told how they were woken by “loud explosions” on Wednesday after an Indian jet fighter crash landed nearby.
“I saw a burning aircraft plummeting from the sky, with another aircraft flying above it,” said Mohammad Yusuf, a resident of Wuyan village, roughly 12 miles south of Srinagar.
“The burning jet crashed near a school, hitting a Chinar tree. Along with several neighbours, I ran to the crash site. The wreckage continued to explode for almost an hour. Even after the fire department and police arrived, about 30 minutes later, the blasts didn’t stop. We were terrified — it felt like the ground was shaking.”
According to residents, pieces of the aircraft were scattered across various parts of the village, which is home to around 400 families.
Officials said the pilot ejected safely and was taken to a nearby army hospital.
US ‘could play a key role in de-escalation’
“This is a critical crisis triggered by Indian aggression,” Maleeha Lodhi, a former ambassador of Pakistan to the UK and US, has told The Times.
He added that Washington might play a crucial role in de-escalation.
“It is essential to manage the situation to prevent further escalation, especially given the nuclear context, which poses significant risks,” Lodhi added.
“While it remains uncertain whether a major escalation can be averted, we might witness US intervention aimed at de-escalation, as the US has historically played a role in diffusing tensions between India and Pakistan.”
10 killed by Pakistani shelling, India says
Ten civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been killed by cross-border artillery shelling, according to the Indian military.
All the deaths were reported in the Poonch district, an area which lies near the Line of Control, effectively the border between India and Pakistan.
Another 48 were injured in the bombardment of the area, officials said.
Operation Sindoor name is ‘personal for Modi’
The Indian codename for its attack on Pakistan is Operation Sindoor.
Sindoor is the red or orange coloured substance that Hindu women wear in the parting of their hair after marriage.
“It’s very personal what Modi has done. Only he could have given this kind of name because he understands my pain and that of the other widows,” said Aishyana Dwivedi, whose husband was killed in the attack in Kashmir last month.
In pictures: Pakistan and India count cost of strikes
India defends strikes as ‘proportionate and responsible’
The Indian foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, said India carried out its overnight attacks because there had been “no demonstrable step by Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory, or territory under its control”.
In a press briefing, he also claimed that intelligence gathering by Delhi showed “further attacks against India were impending”, referencing the terror attack on Kashmir last month which killed 26.
“This morning India exercised its right to respond and to pre-empt as well as deter more such cross border attacks. These measures were non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible and were focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling the terrorists who were likely to be sent across to India.”
In pictures: India and Pakistan trade blows
Situation is ‘very concerning’, UK minister says
The UK is ready to help India and Pakistan de-escalate the “very concerning” situation in Kashmir, Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary said.
Reynolds also told Times Radio the government was also monitoring the impact on India and Pakistani communities in Britain in the wake of the overnight missile strikes.
He said: “We make sure there’s not misinformation going out on social media. We work very much with local authorities, local police forces, to make sure they’ve got the resources that they need. We know what we are able to do in order to be in a position to help manage these tensions.”
Reynolds added: “The situation over Kashmir … is sadly a long-running one that can only be solved through dialogue between India and Pakistan, and anything the UK can do as a friend and partner to both for de-escalation; for regional stability, we stand ready and able to do so.”
Beijing calls for restraint
China, which borders India and Pakistan, has urged both sides to “remain calm and restrained” following the overnight missile strikes.
The foreign ministry expressed “regret over India’s military action this morning” and said it was “concerned about the current developments”.
A spokesman said: “India and Pakistan are neighbours that cannot be moved apart, and they are also China’s neighbours.
“China opposes all forms of terrorism. We call on both India and Pakistan to prioritise peace and stability, remain calm and restrained and avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation.”
Potential for war is real, ex-Tory minister says
Lord Ahmad, the former Tory minister for South Asia, warned of an outbreak of war between India and Pakistan following the missile strikes.
He said: “The missile strikes by India on Pakistan and Pakistani administered Kashmir is an alarming escalation between two nuclear armed neighbours — the potential of a war tonight is real — we need urgent international engagement to prevent a widening of this conflict which carries serious implications not just for the region but for the wider world.
The London-born businessman, who served as a vice chairman for the Conservative Party between 2008 and 2010, became Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon when he was made a life peer in 2011.
Foreign Office warns on travel to the region
The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel within six miles of the India-Pakistan border following the strikes.
It also advises against travel within ten miles of the military line dividing the Indian and Pakistan controlled parts of the region of Kashmir.
The Foreign Office said: “We are continuing to monitor the situation closely. British nationals should stay up to date with our travel advice and follow the advice of local authorities.”
Pakistan airspace was closed for at least 48 hours on Tuesday night, with reports of flights being diverted.
‘Mosques and residential buildings hit’
Several mosques and residential blocks were hit at different sites in Pakistan, according to officials.
One of the missiles damaged a mosque in Muridke, a town near the eastern city of Lahore. The militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was banned by Pakistan in 2013, was previously known to have its headquarters near the mosque.
Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor, told Associated Press that 13 people were killed in a strike on the Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur. The city is said to be a stronghold of the banned Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Act of aggression will not go unpunished, Pakistan warns
Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, described the strikes by India as an “act of war”.
He said in a post on X: “This heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished. The people of Pakistan and its forces are fully prepared to confront and defeat any threat with our strength and determination.
“The enemy will never be allowed to achieve its malicious aims.”
Sharif also said that Pakistan “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given”.
Pakistan ‘will be held accountable for Kashmir attack’
The Indian government said its strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir targeted “terrorist infrastructure”.
“A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the military said.
The strikes followed the killing of 26 people by militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22.
“We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,” the Indian government said.
