India Strikes Pakistan After Terror Attack Leaves 26 Dead

India launched a series of airstrikes into Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled territory early Tuesday, triggering a dangerous escalation between two nuclear-armed adversaries after a brutal terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir left 26 Indian civilians dead.

Dubbed Operation Sindoor, the strikes hit nine sites India says were being used to plan and direct cross-border terror attacks, specifically targeting Hindus, according to Indian officials. The operation was conducted with what India called “focus and precision” against terror camps not civilian or military targets.

“India has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of survivors and other evidence pointing toward the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in this attack,” the Indian embassy to the U.S. said.

India’s bold response came just days after the April 22 terror massacre and during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deepen U.S.-India strategic ties.

Pakistan, predictably, denied the terror links and claimed Indian jets killed two children in civilian areas, vowing retribution. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the operation a “cowardly attack” and promised a “resolute response,” escalating tensions further with artillery fire across the Line of Control in Kashmir.

“The enemy will never be allowed to achieve its malicious aims,” Pakistan’s government declared, alleging it had shot down two Indian fighter jets and one drone a claim India has not confirmed.

This latest conflict is not just another border skirmish it marks the most dangerous exchange between India and Pakistan since the Balakot airstrikes in 2019. It also comes amid growing U.S. alignment with India under President Donald Trump, who responded cautiously on Tuesday.

“We just heard about it… I just hope it ends very quickly,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio was briefed by India’s NSA Ajit Doval and promised continued engagement with both countries to de-escalate the situation.

But India’s message is clear: its days of patience and restraint in the face of Islamist terrorism backed by Pakistan’s deep state are over. With Modi at the helm and Trump back in the White House, New Delhi is asserting its right to self-defense and acting on it.

• The strike follows years of frustration over Pakistan’s harboring of terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

• India’s action also coincides with the suspension of a water-sharing treaty, showing New Delhi is willing to apply pressure economically and militarily.

This is a moment of reckoning not just for Pakistan, but for the global community that has long turned a blind eye to Pakistan’s dual game of playing victim while sheltering jihadists.

The United Nations, of course, offered its usual weak response. A spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “very concerned” and urged “maximum military restraint.”

Restraint is how India lost 26 innocent lives last week.

Modi’s government has now made it clear: there will be consequences. And if Pakistan wants peace, it will need to stop exporting terror and start cleaning up its own backyard.

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