Cross-border strikes between India and Pakistan have left at least 15 civilians dead and scores injured, following Indian missile attacks on multiple locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday morning. The strikes were carried out in retaliation for a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.
Residents of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, described scenes of chaos and destruction. “Before we could even process what was happening, more missiles struck, causing widespread panic and chaos,” said Mohammed Waheed, who fled his home with his family after the blasts. He said dozens in his neighborhood were injured, and a local mosque was among the structures hit. “It was a normal street mosque where we prayed five times a day,” Waheed told the BBC. “We never saw any suspicious activity around it.”
Pakistan’s government reported that eight civilians were killed and 35 others injured in the Indian strikes, which targeted at least three locations including an educational complex in the Nangal Sahadan suburb. According to witnesses, four missiles struck the compound, destroying a mosque and damaging schools and a medical facility.
In response, Pakistan shelled areas along the Line of Control (LoC), killing at least seven civilians on the Indian side, according to Indian authorities. Among the dead was Ruby Kaur, a resident of Poonch district, who was killed by a mortar round while making tea for her ill husband.
“She was bleeding heavily from a head wound,” said her uncle, Buava Singh. “We rushed her to the hospital, but she was declared dead.” He added that there were no community bunkers in the area, leaving residents exposed to the shelling.
The Indian military said its actions were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” aimed specifically at militant infrastructure based on credible intelligence. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the earlier militant attack and condemned India’s strikes as unprovoked aggression.
While both governments seek to control the narrative, civilians on both sides of the heavily militarized LoC are bearing the brunt of the violence. “We’re terrified and don’t know what to do,” said Shahnawaz, another Muzaffarabad resident. “People are desperately searching for safe locations.”
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors remain dangerously high, with residents fearing a wider escalation.
