Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the country responded to recent Indian airstrikes by downing Indian jets, although India has not confirmed this claim. In a national address, he described the move as a direct reply to India’s actions.
According to Pakistani officials, 31 people have died and 57 others were injured due to airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, alongside continued firing along the Line of Control.
India, on the other hand, reported that at least 15 civilians were killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the border. Indian authorities stated that their missile strikes were in retaliation for a militant attack that killed Indian tourists in Pahalgam last month, an incident Pakistan denies any involvement in.
The region of Indian-administered Kashmir has long been the center of a violent insurgency, with both India and Pakistan claiming the territory in its entirety. Thousands of lives have been lost over the decades due to the ongoing conflict.