By Nasir Aijaz
The AsiaN Representative
ISLAMABAD: At least eight innocent civilians, including two minor girls, were killed and another 33 injured in missile strikes launched by India under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the night of May 6, 2025.
The Indian missiles targeted six places in Kotli and Muzaffarabad areas of Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and Ahmedpur East, Muridke and Bahawalpur in the southeast region of Punjab province.
India struck in civilian areas, targeting mosques and innocent civilians.
In retaliation, Pakistan shot down an Indian drone, three aircrafts, and destroyed an Indian brigade headquarter, media reports said, quoting official sources.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General, ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations), Pakistan army’s media wing, tweeted, “India struck Pakistan at 6 places, 24 impacts- 8 innocent Pakistanis martyred, 33 injured including women and children.”
Some media reports say that Indians used stand-off weapons from their own territory and issued a press release that they attacked terrorists at nine points.
Reports further said that the Pakistan Army shot down an Indian drone in the Barnala sector in AJK. Media reports suggest that Pakistan’s PK JF17 and J10C fired 09 PL15 missiles (Chinese) inside India. Tracked IAF jets inside India, shot down two. One fell in Bhatinda and another fell in Akhnor. One UAV was shot down as well. Third IAF jet reportedly shot down as well, in Avantipura Kashmir.’ However, a report by Associated Press of Pakistan, a state-run news agency, confirmed shooting down two Indian fighter jets.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his tweet said, “The treacherous enemy has launched a cowardly attack on five locations within Pakistan. This heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished.”
“Pakistan reserves the absolute right to respond decisively to this unprovoked Indian attack — a resolute response is already underway,” he added.
Sharif has convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday May 7 at 10 am.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a key partner in coalition government, also tweeted that ‘India’s cowardly and unprovoked attacks on civilian targets in Muridke, Bahawalpur, Kotli & Muzaffarabad are acts of war.’
He said, “The targeting of innocent women and children is not strength, it is savagery. Pakistan’s armed forces, backed by an unbreakable nation, are responding with full force. Every aggression will be crushed. We will not tolerate violations of our sovereignty. Pakistan is united, defiant, and ready.”
Meanwhile, people on social media commented, ‘What is concerning is that Bahawalpur is nearly 500 kms from the Indian border, yet ballistic missiles still managed to strike the city. How were they not intercepted?”
Standoff missiles fired from India have an approximate range of 120 kms. Fired missiles from almost 40/50/60kms, meaning IAF planes were at least 100kms inside India.
A video circulating on social media showed the citizens of Bahawalpur leaving the city for safer places in fear of further attacks. The Punjab Chief Minister Ms. Maryam Nawaz, niece of the premier Shehbaz Sharif, has announced a public holiday for May 7 in view of the safety of citizens.
Meanwhile, Rajdeep Sardesai, an Indian spokesman, tweeted that “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. Altogether, nine sites have been targeted.
The missile strikes come in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 last in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered, an official statement of the Indian government said.
Soon after the Pahalgam incident, India had canceled the Indus Basin Water Treaty of 1960 between two countries, cancelled all the visas of Pakistani citizens, ordered diplomatic staff of Pakistan to leave, and blocked its air space for Pakistan. Almost the same steps were taken by Pakistan in response.
In view of Indian missile strikes, Pakistan has banned all the flights from entering its air space, with the result that many flights could not land in the country and had to fly back.
Military might of India and Pakistan
According to a recent report by Turkish news agency ‘Anadolu’, India fields one of the largest standing armies globally, with over 1.47 million active-duty soldiers.
It has 1,237,000 personnel in the army, 75,500 in the navy, 149,900 in the air force, and 13,350 in the coast guard, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Pakistan, in contrast, has approximately 660,000 active personnel – 560,000 in the army, 70,000 in the air force, and 30,000 in the navy.
India also has over 1.6 million – 1,616,050 – gendarmerie and paramilitary forces, with Pakistan’s figure at 291,000, IISS data shows.
In terms of reserve personnel, India has over 1.15 million – 960,000 for the army, 140,000 for the air force, and 55,000 for the navy – and 941,000 for gendarmerie and paramilitary forces, according to IISS.
Regarding Pakistan, there are varying figures on military reserves, with the Global Firepower database placing the number at 550,000.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has a numerical advantage with 730 combat-capable aircraft, including the French-built Rafale and the Russian SU-30MKI, according to IISS data.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has 452 combat-capable aircraft, including American-made F-16 jets, JF-17 Thunders jointly made by China and Pakistan, and Mirage III/V fighter aircraft.
India’s navy has 29 principal surface combatants – 2 aircraft carriers, 11 destroyers, and 16 frigates – and 160 patrol and coastal combatants, according to IISS figures.
Pakistan has 10 frigates, no aircraft carrier or destroyer, and 21 patrol and coastal combatants.
India also operates 16 submarines, including both nuclear-powered and conventional vessels, while Pakistan has 8 submarines.
India possesses 3,740 main battle tanks compared to Pakistan’s 2,537, IISS data shows.
In artillery strength, India has over 9,743 units versus more than 4,619 for Pakistan.
Pakistan and India are among a select group of nations worldwide possessing nuclear arsenals.
According to SIPRI data, India has 172 nuclear warheads, slightly more than Pakistan’s arsenal of 170 warheads.
India possesses a wide array of missile systems, including nuclear-capable ballistic missiles of short-, medium-, and intermediate-range from the Agni and Prithvi series.
New Delhi has also test-fired its intercontinental ballistic missile Agni-V, which has the ability to carry multiple nuclear warheads and an operational range exceeding 5,000 kilometers (over 3,100 miles).
Pakistan has several nuclear-capable short- and medium-range ballistic missile systems, including the solid-fuel Shaheen series and the liquid-fueled Ghauri missiles.
Islamabad also has the nuclear-capable Babur cruise missile, which can be launched from the surface or submarine platforms. It has also test-fired the Shaheen-III ballistic missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons to targets up to 2,750 kilometers (over 1,700 miles) away.
