The Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out 24 precision missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), including Muridke and Bahawalpur, which are the strongholds of terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, respectively. Over 70 terrorists were killed and more than 60 wounded, significantly degrading the operational capability of these groups.
The attacks, which were carried out at 1:44am, were in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag district that claimed 26 lives — 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen — on April 22.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Defence confirmed hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”
The Defence Ministry said India is living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable.
India’s strikes come hours before a planned security mock drill across the country for “effective civil defence in the event of a hostile attack”, across 244 districts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the perpetrators of the attack and those who took part in its conspiracy to the “ends of the earth” to inflict punishment on them “beyond their imagination”
