ost-midnight on May 6, Indian fighter jets fired 24 missiles at six places in various parts of the country in a span of an hour killing 31 people and injuring 57, including children and women, according to Pakistani authorities.

The strikes, according to Indian authorities, were a consequence of the Pahlagam tourist attack in Indian Occupied Kashmir on April 22, which New Delhi attributed to defunct militant groups once based in Pakistan. It presented no evidence linking the attack to Pakistan or any of the groups.

The strikes, described by Islamabad as unwarranted, unprovoked and a blatant violation of international boundaries without any evidence and intimation, mainly hit mosques and seminaries associated with the accused groups. India has described these as operational facilities of terrorist organisations engaged in cross-border infiltration and militancy. The attacks took place in Muridke, Bahawalpur, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Sialkot and Shakargarh

The deadliest attacks targeted mosques and seminaries linked to Jaish-i-Muhammad once led by Masood Azhar, Jamaat-ud-Dawah once led by Hafiz Saeed and the Harkat-ul Mujahdeen. India described the mission as a success. India has long alleged that these groups maintain training camps for militants, a claim Pakistan has always denied.

In swift response, Pakistan shot down five Indian fighter jets. “All these planes were shot down after engagement with the Pakistani Air Force without entering the Indian air space, after the Indian jets attacked our space,” Director General Inter Services Public Relations Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told the media. He said Pakistan had also destroyed some Indian check posts. The DG said that India had fired missiles at the Nauseri Dam structure in Azad Kashmir near Muzaffarabad.

“Targeting water reservoirs is illegal under global agreements on account of the potential harm to civilians,” he said.

“Pakistan will respond at a time and place of its own choosing. This heinous and cowardly attack will not go unanswered,” the military spokesperson stated.

In his speech in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the armed forces for their preparedness and professionalism. He also said 80 Indian fighter jets had participated in the strikes in Pakistan.

“India fired missiles at six places in Pakistan last night. Our Air Force took down five of those, including three Rafale aircraft. This is a huge success, a grace from Allah. This was conventional warfare. Now they know Pakistan is ahead in conventional warfare.”

The Foreign Office, meanwhile summoned the Indian chargé d’affaires to launch a protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes at locations across Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. “It was conveyed that India’s blatant act of aggression constitutes a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Such actions are in contravention of the UN charter, international law and established norms governing inter-state relations. Pakistan firmly rejected India’s baseless justifications for its hostile conduct.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar briefed the ambassadors in Islamabad on the Indian strikes in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir saying the strikes had “jeopardised regional peace and stability.” He emphasised that the Indian actions were a blatant violation of the UN charter and international law. He also rejected as baseless Indian claims of targeting terrorist infrastructure. He maintained that there was no credible evidence linking Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack.

“The Indian leadership has once again used the bogey of terrorism to promote a false narrative of victimhood without paying heed to the international community’s repeated calls for de-escalation and exercise of restraint,” Dar said, urging the international community to hold India accountable for its irresponsible conduct.

Government officials say while Pakistan had been weighing the targets in India it might strike in the event of an Indian aggression, a serious effort was mounted to avoid conflict.

On Thursday morning, the ISPR DG told a press briefing that 25 Indian drones had been destroyed by security forces at various locations across Pakistan. He said a civilian casualty and injuries to four security personnel had been reported.

The writer is a staff member. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com