ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly denounced India’s missile strikes on Pakistani cities and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday, calling them a “cowardly attack” and an “act of war,” as the death toll from the Indian assault rose to at least 26.
Sharif vowed a “befitting reply,” as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors soared. According to Pakistani military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, at least 46 people—including women and children—were wounded in the strikes, which targeted multiple civilian sites. In the northeastern town of Ahmedpur Sharqia, 13 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed when a missile hit a mosque.
Chaudhry accused the Indian military of deliberately striking civilian infrastructure, including two hydropower structures, in what he described as a gross violation of international norms and laws. “Pakistan reserves the right to respond and will do so at a time and place of choosing,” he said during a televised news conference. He added that Pakistan had already retaliated by shooting down five Indian fighter jets—three of them French-made Rafales—a MiG-29, an SU-30, and a drone.
India previously claimed it had launched missile strikes on nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh, Ahmadpur Sharqia, Muzaffarabad, and Kotli. The strikes follow a deadly April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed. India blamed Pakistan, citing cross-border links—a charge Islamabad has denied.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called the Indian action an “unprovoked and blatant act of war” and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. In a formal complaint to the UN Security Council, Islamabad warned that the strikes posed a threat to international peace and security and emphasized Pakistan’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Amid the escalation, Pakistan’s Punjab province declared a state of emergency and ordered all schools to close, a move mirrored in the capital, Islamabad. Meanwhile, Pakistan partially reopened its airspace on Wednesday, though several northern Indian airports remain shut.
