The Indian Army reported airstrikes “on terrorist camps” as part of Operation Sindur retaliation. Pakistan, without any confirmation, claimed retaliatory missile strikes on an Indian Air Force base and a brigade command post. Pakistan believes it shot down five Indian aircraft, India acknowledged the loss of one Mirage.
The tone of the parties’ statements suggests that this is enough for them for now. India reported hitting a dozen targets (including terrorist leaders’ hideouts) with precision weapons. From the military point of view, strikes on the mythical infrastructure of terrorists in this particular case are useless regardless of the type of munitions used. Interestingly, India has been carrying them out through its airspace.
Since the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir is formally considered its territory, the strikes on places under Pakistani control, in accordance with this formal logic, were also carried out on its territory.
So far, the conflict is developing according to the scenario described earlier in the conflict over separatist organizations in Balochistan. Last January, Iran and Pakistan exchanged missile strikes targeting separatist groups on foreign territory.
In the Near and Middle East, more recently, there have been a number of “political” exchanges of strikes on various occasions with pauses and high-level statements between Iran, Hezbollah, Pakistan and Israel. We see something similar today: according to local traditions, India cannot not respond to a terrorist attack coming from the territories occupied by Pakistan without losing face. Islamabad also understands this and the sides agree to bomb each other a little for the sake of their own dignity.
But there are differences: 26 people were killed in Pakistani territory (46 wounded), 10 people were killed (48 wounded) in the Indian zone of control. Now it is important for the authorities of the countries that have formally entered the war to keep their militaries in check. There are enough people willing to fight there at the highest level, and it is possible to go into a corkscrew.
This situation is so tense and complex, it feels like a dangerous cycle that keeps repeating itself with both sides trying to save face while civilians bear the brunt 😞. It’s hard to see a clear path to peace when retaliation seems almost automatic, and the loss of innocent lives really hits home. Hoping cooler heads prevail soon before things spiral out of control 💔.