May 7, 2025, 4:21 p.m.
(Photo: bsmedia.business-standard.com)
The confrontation between India and Pakistan is one of the longest-running conflicts of our time. On April 22, 2025, the confrontation received a new impetus, and on the night before May 7, hostilities began. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that both countries have nuclear weapons in their arsenal. The sources of the conflict, its stages and the current state of affairs are described in the material of Intent.
In 1947, the United Kingdom granted independence to its colony, British India. As a result, the territory was divided into two countries: Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. One of the main problems remained the disputed lands, in particular the principality of Jammu and Kashmir, which was eventually divided between India, Pakistan and China. Almost 80 years later, the issue of control over the territory of the principality remains acute.
Map: BBC
The main stages of the conflict:
November 26, 2008, a series of attacks organized by Islamists operating from Pakistan took place in Mumbai. For three days, the militants attacked several key facilities in the city. The attacks killed 166 people and injured about 300 others. India blamed the attack on Pakistan.
On February 14 , 2019, a suicide attack took place in the city of Pulwama - a suicide bomber from a group operating from Pakistan killed 40 Indian soldiers. In response, India launched an air strike on militant camps in Pakistan.
On April 22, 2025, an armed group carried out an armed attack on tourists in the city of Pahalgam. 26 people were killed - 25 Indians and a Nepali citizen. India blamed Pakistan, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups. As a result, both countries recalled diplomats and canceled a number of important agreements.
On May 6, 2025, late in the evening, Ukrainian time, Indian authorities announced that they had launched an attack on "terrorist" infrastructure in Pakistan. Indian authorities said they had attacked nine sites as part of Operation Sindhur, UP reported.
Eight people were killed in Pakistan as a result of missile strikes by the Indian armed forces - this figure was announced at a press conference by the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif, Radio Liberty reports.
The Indian army also reported civilian casualties - according to it, three civilians were killed by Pakistani troops who resorted to "arbitrary" shelling of the Line of Control, the newspaper writes. This is the de facto border that divides Kashmir, the center of an 80-year territorial dispute between the two countries. The command added that the Indian army was "responding proportionately." Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar reported on social media site X that Pakistan had shot down three Indian planes and one drone. The Indian command did not comment on this statement.
The wreckage of an aircraft in Kashmir. Photo: AP
"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, according to the UN.
US President Donald Trump called India's military operation against Pakistan a "disgrace," Ukrayinska Pravda reports.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China: "We call on India and Pakistan to prioritize peace and stability, maintain calm and restraint, and avoid actions that will further complicate the situation," the ministry said in a statement, Glavkom reports. The Foreign Ministry added that China "regrets the military actions taken by India" and is concerned about the current developments.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is due to arrive in Delhi on a mediation mission. He is scheduled to meet with President Dropadi Murmu and Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar. Iran has volunteered to mediate a new phase of the conflict between India and Pakistan, the BBC reports.
In recent years, the international situation has changed significantly: now the United States, after the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2021, is less interested in cooperating with Pakistan.
The United States and India have a closer partnership. In an interview with the Economist, former Indian Ambassador to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria said that India may try to get the United States to impose sanctions on a number of Pakistani military and government officials. He suggests that India will also demand a review of the decision to grant Pakistan a $7 billion IMF loan.
According to India expert Oleksiy Zakharov, one of India's main allies is indeed the United States: relations between the two countries have developed significantly over the past 10-15 years, including in the military and security spheres.
At the same time, the expert notes that China immediately took a more neutral and restrained position than many countries that sided with India in the first hours after the attack.
Beijing then mentioned that it recognized Pakistan's legitimate interests and repeated Pakistan's rhetoric that an investigation was needed, Zakharov said.
"Of course, here we need to understand that China is indeed a very close partner of Pakistan, especially in recent years, relations are close to allied," the expert says. At the diplomatic level, Russia has also taken a more neutral and cautious stance.
"In the perception of the Indian side, Russia has now become a more neutral party due to the development of relations with Pakistan. Yes, there is, of course, a nuance here: India is still Russia's largest arms importer, and Russia does not supply weapons to Pakistan, following India's red lines," Zakharov said.
At the time of publication, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had not yet issued a reaction to the events of the night before May 7.
It is noteworthy that on May 7, after the situation escalated, Bloomberg reported that some Indian refineries are planning to buy more Russian crude oil this year.
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