India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islambad calls ‘act of war’

ISLAMABAD (AP) — India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory in several locations early Wednesday, killing at least eight people including a child, in what Pakistan’s leader called an act of war.

India said it struck infrastructure used by militants linked to last month’s massacre of tourists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

At least three civilians were also killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir by Pakistani shelling, the Indian army said in a statement.

Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors since the attack, which India has blamed Pakistan for backing. Islamabad has denied the accusation.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Wednesday’s airstrikes and said the “deceitful enemy has carried out cowardly attacks” and that his country would retaliate.

“Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,” Sharif said.

Sharif has convened a meeting of the National Security Committee for Wednesday morning.

Exchanges raise threat of war

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said it was one the highest-intensity strikes from India on its rival in years and that Pakistan’s response would “surely pack a punch as well.”

“These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other,” Kugelman said. “The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly.”

Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesperson, said in a statement late Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border” and called for maximum military restraint from both countries.

“The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the statement read.

Scenes of panic and destruction

The missiles hit six locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in the country’s eastern Punjab province, resulting in the deaths of eight people and injuries to 38, said Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif.

One hit a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, killing a child. Other locations hit were near Muridke in Punjab and Kotli in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

India’s Defense Ministry said at least nine sites were targeted “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.”

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted,” the statement said, adding that “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”

The army said the operation was named “Sindoor,” a Hindi word for the bright red vermillion powder worn by married Hindu women on their forehead and hair, in a reference to the women who saw their husbands killed in front of them.

In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as the blast ripped through houses and saw people running in panic. Authorities immediately cut the power, leading to a blackout.

Later, locals inspected the damage to their homes in the aftermath of the missile attacks, rubble and other debris crunching underfoot.

People took refuge on the streets and in open areas, fearful of what might happen. “We were afraid the next missile might hit our house,” said Mohammad Ashraf.

Authorities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have declared an emergency in the region’s hospitals.

Pakistan shut schools in Kashmir and Punjab province after the missile strikes. It had earlier closed seminaries in Kashmir in anticipation of an attack by India.

India hit by shelling as a plane falls on a school building

Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, there were heavy exchanges of fire between both armies.

The Indian army said three civilians were killed when Pakistani troops “resorted to arbitrary firing,” including gunfire and artillery shelling, across the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two countries, and their international border. It said it was “responding in a proportionate manner.”

Shortly after India’s strikes, an aircraft fell on a school building in the outskirts of the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to Srinagar police and residents.

“There was a huge fire in the sky. Then we heard several blasts also,” said Mohammed Yousuf Dar, a resident of southern Wuyan village in the Pampore area, where the incident occurred.

Firefighters struggled for hours to douse the fires.

State-run Pakistan Television, quoting security officials, said the country’s air force shot down five Indian jets in retaliation but provided no additional detail. There was no immediate comment from India about Pakistan’s claim. Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has said Indian forces had launched the strikes from inside Indian airspace.

Pakistan said the strike posed a significant threat to commercial air traffic. “This reckless escalation has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir shut Srinagar city’s airport for civilian flights following directions from the Indian air force, senior airport official said Javed Anjum said.

India speaks to US

The Indian Embassy in Washington said in a statement that national security advisor Ajit Doval spoke with U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the strikes. The embassy said “India has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of survivors” that point towards “the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the attack.”

Indian officials said the armed forces had used precision strike weapon systems to carry out the strikes, targeting the headquarters of militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.

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Saaliq and Roy reported from New Delhi. Butt and Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Associated Press writers Ishfaq Hussian in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan contributed to this story.