The longstanding conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region has intensified dramatically in recent weeks, raising international concerns about the potential for a broader military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations. The latest escalation began on April 22, 2025, when a terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, a remote tourist destination in Indian-administered Kashmir, resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, primarily Hindu tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), a terror group believed to be linked to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack but later retracted the statement, saying their social media profiles had been hacked. India accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism (and specifically the Baisaran attack), which the Pakistani government denied.

In response, India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, conducting airstrikes targeting alleged terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province. India claimed the strikes were focused and non-escalatory, and were aimed strictly at “terrorist infrastructure” and non-Pakistani military targets. Pakistan reported dozens of civilian casualties and denounced the strikes as unprovoked.

The situation further escalated as Pakistan and India started launching retaliatory drone strikes and artillery bombardments against each other along the “Line of Control”, the international border between the two countries. India has also reported that it destroyed Pakistani Anti-Aircraft devices around the central city of Lahore using drones. Both nations have reported downing each other’s drones and aircraft, with anonymous French sources confirming at least one French-made and Indian operated “Rafael” fighter being shot down by the Pakistani military. Two anonymous US officials also told Reuters they were “highly confident” that at least two IAF aircraft had been downed by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. US officials also confirmed that the two aircraft that had been downed were shot down by a Chinese-made J-10 aircraft, marking a rare first in military history where a Chinese-manufactured jet had downed a Western design in a major conflict.