In response to the devastating terrorist attack that occurred in the Baisaran Valley, Pahalgam, J&K, on April 22, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025. 20 people were injured and 26 people, including 25 tourists and one local Muslim pony operator, were killed when five extremists with AK-47s and M4 carbines assaulted a party of about 40 tourists.
Operation Sindoor: Revenge
This operation was claimed as a surgical military operation to destroy terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir. As a result, India defended nine locations which were associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba to dismantle their operational structure.
The claimed objectives were achieved; apart from suffering significant operational losses in carrying out the objectives, militants were estimated to have lost over 100 troops as a result. But the cross-border raid increased the strain between the two nuclear competitors, Pakistan and India, resulting in heightened diplomatic restraint calls from other nations.
India-Pakistan Tension: Aftermath of the Attack
In retaliation, Pakistan executed extensive shelling in the bordering areas of the LoC, which resulted in the deaths of 12 Indian civilians, one army soldier and injuring 51. Among the targets was a gurdwara in Poonch.
(Photo Source: PTI)
Moreover, during the night of 7 and 8 May 2025, Pakistan tried to target multiple military sites in Northern and Western India which included parts of J&K (Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu), Rajasthan (Phalodi and Uttarlai), Punjab, and some parts of Gujarat.
The counterattack was successfully neutralised by India using the Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid and air defence weapon systems.
As claimed, retaliatory measures, drone strikes, were initiated by Pakistan targeting Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur on the Indian side of the border. Meanwhile, India retaliated by striking air defence radars and systems of Pakistan stationed in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi.
All these events escalated the ongoing India-Pakistan tension.
India claimed an aerial victory, saying that the air defence over Lahore was reported as non-operational. It is also reported that the Harop drones from Israel were used by India in those attacks.
Impact on Ind-Pak Trade
Trade
Bilateral agreements and all trade with Pakistan have been put on hold by India, and in an act of retaliation, India has prohibited the import of goods from Pakistan or goods that pass through Pakistan.
India sold around $500 million in products to Pakistan from April 2024 - January 2025, comprising primarily pharma, chemicals, sugar and automotive parts, as against $0.42 million in imports, Indian Ministry of Trade figures revealed.
Islamabad on Thursday shut its airspace for Indian carriers and halted all trade relations with India, including third-country routes and transit of commodities to other countries, following India's closure of the Attari check post, an important trade link with Pakistan, a day earlier.
Travel
The only open land border between India and Pakistan is now closed, and both countries have prohibited their airlines from flying through each other's airspace.
Ships bearing the other’s flag are also barred from docking at their ports, with each country declaring that their ships will no longer visit the other’s ports.
The New Delhi government cancelled nearly all visas it had earlier granted to Pakistanis, then set a deadline for them to leave the country.
Diplomacy
Both sides of the border have considered the defence advisers of the opposing mission in New Delhi and Islamabad as persona non grata, while also downscaling their embassies.
Postal Service
India has stopped the acceptance of all incoming postal mail and shipments delivered via air and surface from Pakistan.
Loans
India seeks to further restrict Pakistan’s access to the International Monetary Fund by reviewing the financial aid Pakistan is currently receiving. This move comes in light of Pakistan obtaining a $7 billion loan from the IMF in September, as well as a $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March.
Social Media
India has imposed a ban on 16 Pakistani YouTube channels which include notable media channels like Dawn News, as well as sport-related channels, including that of former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar.
Indus Water Treaty
India has terminated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which had previously instituted peacetime provisions for the division of waters within the Indus River system between the two countries.
Pakistan, which depends largely on water for farming and power generation, insists that any efforts to halt or alter the water flow will be viewed as an "act of war."
(Sources: ORF, Reuters, Reuters)
