Dangerous Escalation in Pakistan-India Tensions: Military Strikes, Casualties, and Retaliation

South Asia stands on the brink of a severe crisis as Pakistan and India engage in unprecedented military confrontations.

The latest escalation began with India’s missile strikes targeting three Pakistani airbases, prompting Pakistan to launch a large-scale retaliatory operation codenamed “Bunyān Marṣūṣ”. According to Pakistani military sources, the counterstrikes hit several key Indian installations, including missile batteries, airbases, and artillery positions. In response, Pakistan’s civil aviation authority temporarily closed the country’s airspace, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called an emergency meeting of the National Command Authority, the body responsible for nuclear policy decisions.

On the Indian side, shelling in Indian-administered Kashmir resulted in civilian casualties, including the death of a woman named Nargis Begum in Uri and the killing of Rajouri’s District Commissioner Raj Kumar Thapa when a shell struck his residence. Reports of heavy artillery exchanges and explosions have emerged from multiple cities, including Srinagar, Sialkot, Lahore, and Karachi. In Srinagar, power outages and air raid sirens have added to the chaos.

India’s civil aviation ministry has ordered the closure of 32 airports across northern and western states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Indian-administered Kashmir, until May 14. In a significant diplomatic move, India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a decision Pakistan vehemently opposed, calling it an “attack on Pakistan’s people and economy.” Pakistan’s Foreign Office maintains that the treaty remains legally binding and that India’s suspension holds no validity.

Further complicating the situation, Pakistan targeted India’s stockpile of BrahMos missiles in Punjab’s Bias area. The BrahMos, a hypersonic missile system developed jointly by India and Russia, represents a critical component of India’s strategic arsenal. Military analysts warn that the current escalation is the most dangerous in decades, with the potential to spiral into a full-scale regional war if diplomatic efforts fail to de-escalate tensions immediately. The international community watches with growing concern as the crisis threatens to destabilize not only South Asia but also global security dynamics.