Hours after Indian armed forces struck Pakistan, the country declared Indian actions a “blatant act of war.” It has also been said that there will be repercussions of the strike, leading to what is deemed to be one of the worst battles between India and Pakistan in decades. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shebaz Sharif, addressed the Parliament on Wednesday, where he referred to the act as “cowardly”.
He also claimed that the country had knocked down Indian fighter jets, while India, in its briefing, declared that no jets were harmed and no military personnel were killed in the strike. In the National Security Committee meeting, officials called it an illegal act by India and also said that it violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity.
The statement released by the committee read,
The deliberate targeting of civilians, including innocent women and children, by the Indian military constitutes a heinous and shameful crime that is in violation of all norms of human behaviour and the provisions of international law.
While India maintains its stance that no innocent or military establishment was targeted in the strikes that included nine places in Pakistan and others in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After the strike, Pakistan has vowed to retaliate, and reports suggest that the army has started firing at the borders, where casualties have also been reported. India has been clear that the measures were “non-escalatory”, but it seems that Pakistan is trying to take the crisis to a new tangent.
The Pakistani military has also said that the strike hit a mosque in the Punjab district of Pakistan, which killed a child and wounded two people. International pressure is building over both sides as Antonio Guterres, the chief of the UN, was reported to have said that the world cannot risk a confrontation between the nuclear states of India and Pakistan. While Donald Trump in the Oval Office said that he wishes for a quick end to the conflict. China also issued a statement saying it is concerned about the developments between the two countries, and the UK, on the other hand, reported to support both countries if they decide to de-escalate tensions.
