Pakistan’s military on Wednesday accused India of launching a series of unprovoked airstrikes that killed 26 civilians and injured 46 others. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Indian Air Force carried out 24 strikes on six separate civilian targets across Pakistani territory overnight, including Bahawalpur, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Sialkot, and Shakargarh.
The deadliest strike took place in Ahmedpur East, Bahawalpur, where 13 people, including two toddlers and seven women, were martyred. Another mosque was hit in Muzaffarabad, killing three worshippers. In Kotli, a teenage girl and boy died when a missile hit Abbas Mosque. ISPR also reported Indian army shelling along the Line of Control (LoC), which resulted in five additional civilian deaths, including a five-year-old child.
In response, Pakistan’s air force shot down five Indian fighter jets—three Rafale, one MiG-29, and one SU-series—as well as an Israeli-made Heron drone. The jets were brought down over Indian cities including Bhatinda, Srinagar, Jammu, and Avantipur. “These aircraft were targeted only after they attacked Pakistani soil,” Lt. Gen. Chaudhry stated, emphasizing Pakistan’s right to defend its territory without escalating the conflict.
A particularly alarming incident involved a strike on the Nauseri Dam, part of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project. Pakistan’s military called this a “dangerous escalation,” warning that attacks on water infrastructure threaten regional stability and breach international war conventions. The strike endangered both local populations and civil aviation, with 57 international commercial flights flying through Pakistani airspace during the attacks.
Despite the loss and damage, Pakistan maintained that it exercised restraint. “We could have taken down more aircraft but chose to respond in a responsible, measured way,” said Lt. Gen. Chaudhry. He concluded by warning that Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate at a time and place of its choosing and that the country’s armed forces remain fully prepared to protect its sovereignty.