As India Strikes Back, Civilians in Kashmir Pay the Price
As India and Pakistan escalate tensions following the deadly Pahalgam attack, border communities in Kashmir face renewed shelling, economic fallout, and deepening fear. Our reporters bring dispatches from villages where civilians remain on edge.
A man looks at a demolished house belonging to the family of Ahsan Ul Haq Sheikh, a suspect linked to the deadly attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, in Murran village of Pulwama, south of Srinagar, on April 25, 2025. (Sajad Hameed / Jacobin)
On the morning of May 7, the valley of Kashmir awoke to news of a deadly Indian armed attack — Operation Sindoor — launched in the early hours of Wednesday. The operation targeted nine key locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir (PAJK).
The strike came in response to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, where gunmen in army fatigues opened fire on a group of mostly tourists, killing twenty-six people — including a Nepalese national — and injuring more than twenty others. It was the deadliest assault on Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
At a press conference in New Delhi, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Operation Sindoor was launched to bring the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice.
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