India-Pakistan latest: Several Indian planes shot down and soldiers taken prisoner, Pakistan officials say

India has called its pre- attack on Pakistan “Operation Sindoor”.

It says it struck nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir that comprised “terrorist infrastructure”, claiming attacks against India were being orchestrated from these locations. At least one mosque was among the sites targeted.

Sindoor means the red vermilion worn by married Hindu women, an apparent reference to the widows created by the 22 April terror attack that killed 26 men, most of them Hindu, in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Islamabad has said six Pakistani locations were targeted, and a total of 24 impacts were felt from different weapons, reported.

The Indian army said in a post on X following the air strikes: “Justice is Served”.

Pakistan said the strikes killed at least eight civilians, including two children, and destroyed a mosque in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

On the Indian side, at least seven civilians were killed after the Pakistani milit allegedly “resorted to arbitr firing”, the Indian police said.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the Xi Jinping government finds “India’s milit operation early this morning regrettable”.

The Pakistan ally said: “We are concerned about the ongoing situation.”

“India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbours. They’re both China’s neighbors as well,” the spokesperson added today, just hours after India struck alleged militant hideouts on Pakistani soil in retaliation against a militant attack in India-administered Kashmir.

“China opposes all forms of terrorism. We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation,” the spokesperson added.

At least seven people were killed in Pakistan’s shelling on Indian-administered Kashmir, the Indian police said this morning.

The defence ministry reportedly said three Indian fighter jets crashed in Kashmir territory on Wednesday, hours after New Delhi launched airstrikes targeting alleged militant hideouts on Pakistani soil.

The Indian Air Force has taken over the Srinagar airport in India-administered Kashmir this morning and shut all civilian flight operations “till further notice”.

Other airports closer to the border with Pakistan such as in Dharamashala, Leh, Jammu and Amritsar have also been shut until further notice, according to Indian media reports.

Indian flag-carrier Air India on X this morning said in the view of the prevailing situation, the airline has cancelled flights to and from “Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot” cities until noon.

“Two international flights en route to Amritsar are being diverted to Delhi,” it said.

A ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said she was “gravely concerned by the reports of milit escalation between India and Pakistan following the senseless terrorist attacks targeting innocent Indian civilians”.

“I implore the two governments to exercise restraint and prioritize diplomatic engagement,” senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement

“The world can ill afford instability in South Asia. Additionally, I hope the perpetrators of the heinous April 22 attacks are brought to justice as soon as possible.”

Opposition parties in India have been vocal in their support for the Indian milit strike on alleged militant hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the chief of the Congress party, said “we are extremely proud of our Indian Armed Forces who have struck terror camps”.

“We applaud their resolute resolve and courage”.

“National unity and solidarity is the need of the hour and the Indian National Congress stands with our Armed Forces. Our leaders have shown the path in past, and national interest is supreme for us,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in India’s lower house of parliament, wrote on X: “Proud of our Armed Forces. Jai Hind!”

Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) – another opposition party – welcomed the “surgical strikes” carried out by India on “terror camps in Pakistan”.

Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) party, in multiple social media posts said he was proud of the Indian Army. “There should be neither terror nor separatism,” he added.

Authorities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have declared an emergency in the region’s hospitals after Indian missiles struck alleged militant hideouts in the area.

Pakistan shut schools in Kashmir and Punjab province after the missile strikes, the Associated Press reported. It had earlier closed seminaries in Kashmir in anticipation of an attack by India.

Along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, there were heavy exchanges of fire between both armies.

India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this morning in a post on social media said: “The world must show zero tolerance for terrorism”.

His statement comes hours after India attacked Pakistan on Wednesday and Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in the worst fighting in more than two decades between the neighbours.