Indian Air Strike on Pakistan: A sharp escalation in cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces left at least seven civilians dead and 38 injured in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Wednesday, following missile strikes by India on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
While one person was killed in Mendhar, six died in Poonch, the officials informed. Two CRPF jawans were also injured in the shelling at Poonch, sources said. They added that the shell landed at a bus stand.
“During the night of 06-07 May 2025, Pakistan Army resorted to arbitrary firing including Artillery shelling from posts across the Line of Control and IB opposite J&K,” Lt Colonel Suneel Baratwal, PRO (Defence), Northern Command, said.
Heavy shelling was reported in multiple sectors along the border. Local reports indicated that cross-border fire was underway in Krishna Ghati, Shahpur and Mankote in Poonch district, as well as Laam, Manjakote and Gambeer Brahmana in Rajouri. Intense artillery fire was also heard in the Uri and Tangdhar sectors of the Kashmir Valley. A woman was reported killed in Mankote, though officials have yet to confirm her death.
The shelling followed an earlier in the day, which targeted nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. A statement from India’s Defence Ministry said the strikes, dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, were “focused, measured and non-escalatory”, and emphasized that no Pakistani military facilities had been targeted.
The escalating conflict also disrupted civilian life across the region. Authorities have ordered the closure of schools and colleges in five border districts — , Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch — citing security concerns. Airports in cities close to the Indo-Pak border, including Jammu, Srinagar and Leh, suspended operations. Air India cancelled flights to and from several northern cities until at least noon on Wednesday, while other carriers issued travel advisories and reported flight diversions.
The Indian Army posted on social media that Pakistani forces had fired artillery in the Bhimber Gali sector, in what it described as another violation of a ceasefire agreement. The Indian Army, it said, was responding in a “calibrated manner”.
