The bombardments between India and Pakistan reignite the conflict in Kashmir
Rights — di Luigi Mastrodonato
India has carried out a series of military strikes against Pakistan, which has responded. A new military escalation in Kashmir is at risk.
The bombardments between India and Pakistan reignite the conflict in Kashmir
India has carried out a series of military strikes against Pakistan, which has responded. A new military escalation in Kashmir is at risk.
- India has accused Pakistan of involvement in an attack on Indian civilians last April.
- On 6 May it launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistani territory in Kashmir.
- Indian authorities said they struck terrorist infrastructure, but Pakistan denies this.
India has carried out a series of bombardments on Pakistan's territory, reigniting the dispute over the contested region of Kashmir. The Indian military operation, named "Sindoor", was launched on the evening of 6 May and caused at least 26 deaths and 40 injuries.
Indian authorities announced that they had struck terrorist infrastructure linked to the attack of 22 April, when in Indian Kashmir the group Resistance Front, which India considers an offshoot of the Pakistani terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed 26 tourists, mostly Indian. Pakistan, however, alleged that the Indian raids struck civilian targets, including a mosque, and described the action as an "act of war". The authorities in Islamabad responded with a series of raids on Indian Kashmir territory, causing at least 10 deaths.
"Both sides are telling their respective citizens that they have won, that they came out stronger," Matteo Miavaldi, an expert on Indian affairs and author of the book Un'altra idea dell'India (add editore), explains to LifeGate. "This should give hope that both sides are satisfied with how things went and that the clashes can end here. Escalation, however, remains an option."
The dispute over Kashmir
Kashmir is a Himalayan region contested between India and Pakistan since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. The area has been the scene of numerous wars between the two nations and many smaller conflicts, which have continued through to recent times. The division of the territory sees India exercising control over the south-central part of Kashmir, while Pakistan administers the northern and western portion. In between lies a line of control, a de facto border that has never been officially recognised by either side.
On 5 August 2019 the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked Article 370 of the Constitution, which guaranteed special status to Indian Kashmir. This entailed the abolition of the region's legislative and administrative autonomy and led, among other things, to the settlement of Indian citizens in the area, altering its demographic character. The decision provoked strong reactions locally, in a territory with a Muslim majority that is nonetheless a minority within Hindu-majority India. Deep protests followed, to which the Indian authorities responded repressively, through communications blackouts and mass arrests. The Indian move also caused relations with Pakistan to deteriorate once again; Pakistan condemned the move as a violation of bilateral agreements and severed diplomatic relations with the country.
"Operation Sindoor"
Against this already fraught backdrop, in which mutual accusations between India and Pakistan, minor border clashes and terrorist attacks by Pakistani extremist groups had accumulated over the years, the event that broke the equilibrium was the attack of 22 April 2025, when the group Resistance Front, which India considers an offshoot of the Pakistani terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, opened fire on a group of Indian tourists, killing 26 of them.
Video filmed in Indian-administered Kashmir captured loud explosions and smoke around the town of Poonch near the Line of Control as Pakistan promised a "robust response" to a series of Indian air attacks.
"After the attack the Kashmir issue flared up again because it was one of the most serious attacks of the last 30 years in the area," Matteo Miavaldi points out. "The Indian government followed the upheaval and the shock of Indian public opinion and found itself in a position where it had no choice but to respond and demonstrate that the armed forces would protect India and the Indian people. What happened in recent hours was in some ways foreseeable."
On the evening of 6 May, India launched a series of raids on Pakistani Kashmir territory. Nine targets were struck, which the authorities in New Delhi identified as terrorist infrastructure, but which Pakistani authorities said were civilian sites, such as residential complexes that also contained schools and a mosque. "Operation Sindoor" caused at least 26 deaths, including at least one child, and 40 injuries, and was described by Pakistan as an act of war, invoking its right to self-defence. The authorities in Islamabad responded with a series of raids on Indian territory, declaring that they had also shot down five military aircraft. The current toll stands at at least 10 deaths.
A new military escalation?
"Ever since Modi has been at its helm, the Indian government cannot afford to be seen as weak before the Pakistani 'enemy' and has therefore accused the country of being behind the terrorist attack of 22 April. There is no evidence for this, but it is true that in the past Pakistan has encouraged terrorist acts on Indian soil," Miavaldi underlines. "Hence the launch of the missile strikes of recent hours."
Nuclear-armed India has attacked nuclear-armed Pakistan, 14 days after a terrorist incident in the disputed territory of Kashmir (which Indian pins on Pakistan, without any clear proof or evidence).
Multiple targets have been hit in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and the south
Multiple targets have been hit in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and the south
The escalation of 6 May 2025 represents a critical juncture in a conflict that has lasted for decades. The international community has expressed concern over the risk of a large-scale conflict between two nuclear powers. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for maximum restraint from both countries. An appeal echoed by the European Union, which has called for a peaceful, negotiated, mutually agreed and lasting solution to the conflict.
"It's a very fluid situation. The most worrying thing is the international context we find ourselves in: the presence of Donald Trump in the White House and the permissiveness shown by the international community regarding Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip after 7 October have clearly provided inspiration for the Indian offensive," Miavaldi concludes. "Indian media are celebratory of the operation and even the opposition is completely on the government's side and is congratulating the army. The same thing is happening in Pakistan. We need to look at the demonstrative aspect of the use of force: both sides should have demonstrated enough strength to their respective public opinions, and this might suggest that the clashes are over. However, military escalation remains an option."