Three militants are killed in night strike on a terrorist infrastructure in the city of Kotli, Pakistan: a statement by India’s military
India’s military said the strikes, which occurred overnight Wednesday local time, as targeting “terrorist infrastructure.” It said in a statement the strikes were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature” and that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted. In a newsbrief, Qureishi stated that the “locations were selected to avoid damage to civil infrastructures and loss of civilian lives.”
The government in Pakistan said Wednesday’s strikes were an act of war. The AP said 31 people were killed by the Pakistani military.
The sound of multiple strikes sent students away from popular late- night food places in the town of Kotli. One projectile struck a house close to a mosque, which residents say is affiliated with the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, the medical official at the local hospital, said that a 19-year-old student and her brother died in the strike.
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Praveen Donthi is a person. Well, it portends a serious escalation that’s going to occur in the next few days and weeks maybe. The situation between India and Pakistan is very serious and cause for concern, because the first round of hostilities is much larger than the last one. And probably it was in 1971 when both the nations went to a full-fledged war that we’ve seen these kind of exchanges.
Pakistan said one target was a hydropower dam on a river. The attack raised hackles since last month, India suspended its decades-old water treaty with Pakistan, splitting six rivers between the two countries. Following the militant attack, India announced a series of measures. Asim Iftikar Ahmad, Pakistan’s representative to the U.N., had said that the treaty’s suspension posed a threat to the people of Pakistan.
Other strikes landed in Pakistan’s Punjab province, including in a town called Murikde, some 30 miles from Lahore, the country’s second largest city. India has not struck that deep in Pakistan since 1971, said Michael Kugelman, an expert on the region who writes Foreign Policy’s South Asia brief. “What also stands out about these recent strikes is the scale and intensity of them,” he told NPR.
Indian authorities held dozens of emergency drills across the country to prepare its first responders for conflict. Volunteers rappelled from the top of a building as sirens wailed and fireworks boomed, ostensibly to imitate a drill in Mumbai. Drills in the India’s capital New Delhi temporarily plunged the Parliament and several top government offices in darkness.
Praveen Donthi, senior analyst for India with International Crisis Group, said outside parties should have intervened more forcefully to prevent military strikes. “This should have been stopped before it escalated,” Donthi said.
I am interested in listening to you because you told me India may have struck because of public pressure. And now Pakistan is under pressure to strike back in some dramatic way because of public pressure to do something.
Diaa Hadid reporting from Mumbai, India; Bilal Kuchay in Pampore, Indian-administered Kashmir; Betsy Joles in Lahore, Pakistan. NPR producer Omkar Khandekar is based in Mumbai.
The president’s statement made it sound like the war was abenign, but Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst, told Morning Edition that intervention is needed.
Steve Inskeep: NPR’s Diaa Hadid reports that India struck earlier in the week. That was the impression we had of it. National security advisers talking, trying to work it out. There is more strikes today. What do you think about that?
Inskeep: “This is true.” India says it’s striking air defenses in Pakistan. Let’s assume that’s true for purposes of this question. It’s often to clear the way for hitting something else when you hit air defenses. Is there an expectation that India could strike yet again?
Donthi is a person. Well, they say it’s an ongoing operation. They’ve already claimed to have hit nine sites, which they call “terror infrastructure.” There might be more strikes on the way. And Pakistan is bound to retaliate and retaliate strongly because they are under immense public pressure, because this time around there have been civilian casualties, unlike the last time.
India revoked Kashmir’s special status in 2019, and intensified a criminal campaign in the Muslim-majority state.
Does President Trump really “not” control the escalation dynamics? D. Donthi: Sure, but the world isn’t completely in control
That is correct, Donthi. After diplomatic moves, there have been military strikes. And every time there seems to be a demand for a more forceful strike, we don’t know what’s going to come next. But this time around, it looks very serious. The world seems to be taking it lightly. President Trump talked about how conflicts have been going on for a long time. In fact, he said “centuries,” which might make it sound like it’s a benign war that’s been going on and they’re bound to stop at one point. Both of them are nuclear powers and they all have the same risk of making a mistake or miscalculation. So both these powers are not completely in control of the escalation dynamics, which the world seems to believe.
Donthi: Yeah, exactly. President Trump claimed to be close to both the powers, which we know is true, though India and the U.S. have been growing closer in the past 10 years. There is historic ties with Pakistan as well. And ultimately, the U.S. is the superpower who can bring both the parties to the table.