‘World cannot afford’ India-Pakistan confrontation: UN
This handout photograph released by the Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations on May 7, 2025 shows paramedics giving treatment to an injured person at a hospital in Bahawalpur, Punjab province, following strikes in Pakistan. India fired missiles at Pakistani territory early on May 7 in a major escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Islamabad vowing retaliation. — Agence France-Presse
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “very concerned” about Indian military strikes on Pakistan, his spokesperson said on Tuesday, hours after India said it hit nine sites in Pakistani territory.
“The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson.
India said Wednesday it carried out “precision strikes at terrorist camps” inside Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, days after it blamed Islamabad for a deadly attack on the Indian side of the contested region.
The long-simmering conflict between the neighboring nuclear powers intensified dramatically overnight. Fighter jets roared through the skies over the Himalayan territory early Wednesday and the sounds of explosions could be heard near the so-called Line of Control.
“A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the government said in a statement.
READ: India launches strikes on Pakistan, Islamabad vows retaliation
The Indian army, in a video posted on its X account, said “justice is served,” with New Delhi adding that its actions “have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.
“No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted,” it added. “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution”.
Loud explosions were heard in the town of Poonch, only about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the dividing line, as New Delhi accused Pakistan of firing shells across the Line of Control.
Indian fighter jets could be heard flying over Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, while explosions were heard in Wuyan, a few kilometers (miles) from Srinagar’s military headquarters.
“Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing Artillery in Bhimber Gali in Poonch – Rajauri area,” on the Indian side, the Indian army said in a post on X.
The army “is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner,” it added.
The bilateral ties between the two countries plummeted after gunmen killed 26 mainly Hindu civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Cross-border exchanges of fire started two days after that attack at a small meadow near Pahalgam in Indian-controlled part of the territory.
New Delhi accused its arch-rival of backing the attackers, a charge rejected by Islamabad. The nuclear-armed neighbours have exchanged nightly gunfire since April 24 along the de facto border in Kashmir.
The two sides also announced sweeping tit-for-tat punitive diplomatic sanctions — including cancelling visas for each other’s citizens.
The South Asian rivals have fought two wars and numerous skirmishes over control of the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned that water from India flowing into neighbouring countries including Pakistan will be stopped, days after suspending a key water treaty with Islamabad.
