2025 India–Pakistan conflict

The **2025** **India–Pakistan conflict** was a brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan that began on 7 May 2025, after India launched missile strikes on Pakistan, in a military campaign codenamed **Operation Sindoor**. India said that the operation was in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025 in which 26 civilians were killed. India accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, which Pakistan denied.

On 7 May, India launched Operation Sindoor with missile strikes on terrorism-related infrastructure facilities of Pakistan-based militant groups in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, and said that no Pakistani military or civilian facilities were targeted. This conflict marked the first drone battle between the two nuclear-armed nations. while Pakistan accused India of launching attacks on several Pakistan air bases, As conflict escalated on 10 May, Pakistan launched its **Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos**, in which it said it had targeted several Indian military bases.

After the four-day military conflict, both India and Pakistan announced that a ceasefire had been agreed after a hotline communication between their DGMOs (Directors General of Military Operations) on 10 May 2025. US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held extensive correspondence with both Indian and Pakistani officials during the negotiations. The ceasefire has been holding, with resumed commercial flights and normalcy reported from both countries.

## Background 
The Kashmir conflict, ongoing since 1947, has fuelled multiple wars and skirmishes between India and Pakistan over the disputed region.

On 22 April 2025, a terrorist attack by five armed terrorists near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists. The Resistance Front, a militant faction of the Pakistan-based, UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, operating in Indian-administered Kashmir, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but later denied responsibility, saying that the earlier claim was the result of a coordinated hacking, and attributed the breach to Indian authorities. Pakistan alleged that the Pahalgam attack was a "false flag operation" orchestrated by India.

India announced a series of retaliatory measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, prompting responsive measures and leading to a diplomatic crisis and border skirmishes. India and Pakistan also closed their airspaces for each other's airlines.

According to *AirForces Monthly*, on 29 April, four Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale aircraft departed from Ambala Air Force Station on a mission to bomb terrorist targets in the north but aborted and diverted to Srinagar Air Force Station due to an electronic warfare jamming claimed by PAF. As described by the magazine, following this failed attack, and before 6 May, the IAF redeployed up to 20 Rafale aircraft from Hasimara Air Force Station (home of No. 101 Squadron IAF in the Eastern Command) to Gwalior, Ambala, Srinagar, and Nal Air Force Station in Rajasthan. Several S-400 missile system surface-to-air missile batteries were also repositioned to Adampur, Bhuj, and Bikaner. During late April and early May, the IAF mobilised around 400 aircraft, with its transport fleet conducting more than 500 sorties.

## Battle 
### Operation Sindoor
#### Initial strikes
On 7 May 2025, India launched missile and air strikes on nine alleged "militant camps" in both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Seven targets, including some in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, were hit by the Indian Army's artillery regiment, while air defence was jointly provided by the Army and the Indian Air Force. The Israeli press mentioned Indo-Israeli SkyStriker loitering munitions. The attacks on targets in Pakistani Punjab were carried out by the Indian Air Force. According to sources cited by *India Today*, Rafale jets were employed, equipped with SCALP missiles and AASM Hammer bombs. In press releases by Press Information Bureau, the Indian government claimed that during the first attacks on terror camps the Indian Air Force had "bypassed and jammed Pakistan's Chinese-supplied air defence systems" and the operation was conducted without the loss of any Indian asset. The missile attack targeted locations including Subhan Allah Mosque in Bahawalpur (near Ahmedpur East) and Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke, part of the headquarters of JeM and the headquarters of LeT respectively and alleged by India to be their terrorist training camps. Other sites claimed to have been targeted by India included Abbas Mosque (associated with the JeM) in Kotli District, Shawai Nala camp (associated with the LeT) and Syedna Bilal Mosque (associated with the JeM) in Muzaffarabad, Markaz Ahl-e-Hadith in Barnala, Bhimber District (alleged by the Indian government to be associated with the LeT); According to *CNN*, Indian jets in past bombed Pakistani territory following militant attacks on its land but "Wednesday's operation is the deepest India attack inside its neighbor since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, the biggest of several wars between the two countries."
Pakistan confirmed strikes on six of the sites targeted by India, denying the strikes at Barnala and Gulpur in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, but said these were civilian areas including mosques and residential areas and were not terrorist facilities. According to independent assessments, at least four Indian fighter aircraft were downed during the dogfight, If true, it would be first time that a French-origin Dassault Rafale has been lost in combat, reportedly having been shot down by the Chinese-origin Chengdu J-10.

Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force Général d'armée aérienne  stated that he had "seen evidence" of three aircraft being destroyed including a Rafale, a Mirage 2000 and a Russian Sukhoi. Reuters reported that unnamed Indian government sources said that three fighter jets had crashed in India due to unknown causes. On 8 May, an unnamed US official told Reuters that he assessed with "high confidence" that Pakistani J-10 aircraft had shot down at least two Indian fighter jets; a second official assessed one of the downed jets to be a Dassault Rafale. *The Washington Post* later said that it had identified 3 crash sites in India from 7 May, identifying two of them as belonging to an Indian Dassault Rafale and Dassault Mirage 2000 at Akalia Kalan in Bathinda and Wuyan in Pampore respectively and another site at Akhnoor (likely an Indian MiG-29). On 9 May, local government sources in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir told Reuters that three fighter jets crashed in India on 7 May with three pilots being hospitalized.

On 11 May, the Indian Air Force said that "losses are a part of combat" but declined to provide more details, adding that all pilots were back home. According to France 24, India's refusal to confirm or deny the loss of the jets gave further credence to the downing claims. Defence analyst Michael Clarke told *Al Jazeera* that if India had lost a Rafale jet, "that would certainly be embarrassing." He added that if the aircraft had come down within Indian territory, India would likely try to keep it as an unconfirmed rumour for as long as possible, and that its general statement on "inevitable losses" might be the closest it comes to confirmation. On 28 May, he again said that six Indian fighter jets were downed but said that four of these were Rafale, one MiG-29 and one "another plane". The PAF provided the tail numbers BS001, BS021, BS022, and BS027 of four Rafale aircraft it claimed to have shot down to Dassault so the manufacturer could confirm whether the aircraft were still operational. On 31 May 2025, India's Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan admitted that India lost jets, but dismissed Pakistan's claim of downing six fighter jets. On 18 July 2025, President of the United States Donald Trump said that he believed five aircraft had been shot down during the conflict. According to *The Washington Quarterly*, India confirmed the loss of at least three aircraft during the conflict, although the types were not specified. It is likely that India lost at least four aircraft, possibly a fifth, including at least one Rafale and a MiG-29; and that Pakistan also likely lost aircraft.

#### Indian strikes on Pakistani air bases
On 8 May 2025, in response to a series of drone incursions and missile attacks, which India attributed to Pakistan despite its denials of involvement, India carried out strikes and claimed to have damaged air defence radars and systems at multiple locations in Pakistan. Pakistan reported drone incursions or intercepts at 11 sites that morning, and officially acknowledged that four soldiers were injured and military equipment was partially damaged. The strikes destroyed an air defence radar in Lahore. Hours later, on the night of 9 and 10 May, the Indian Armed Forces conducted multiple airstrike operations targeting Pakistani military installations. As per Indian media reports, the air strikes were planned by India's Chief of the Air Staff Amar Preet Singh while National Security Advisor Ajit Doval granted the final clearance. A wave of one-way loitering munitions, including Israeli-made IAI Harop and Polish Warmate 5.0 drones, was deployed. These drones served dual purposes, probing and assessing the reaction parameters of HQ-9BE short-range SAM systems and neutralising or degrading the target acquisition and illumination radars of HQ-16FE medium-range SAM systems. This preparatory tactic weakened the defensive envelope of the targeted sites, thereby facilitating the success of the subsequent cruise missile strikes. According to Pakistan, the PAF intercepted and destroyed 84 Israeli-made Harop drones sent by India.

The drone strikes were followed by Su-30MKI aircraft of the IAF launching between fifteen and eighteen supersonic BrahMos missiles, typically one per aircraft, caused considerable damage. Simultaneously, Rafale EH aircraft from No. 17 Squadron employed at least ten SCALP-EG missiles. These precision strikes were focused on degrading Pakistan's air defense capabilities and operational infrastructure. The targets included four early warning radar installations, seven PAF air bases, and one forward operating base. The airport's Royal Lounge was damaged in the attack and a -wide crater was created in the apron area. The air strikes were also executed against early warning radar installations of the Pakistan Army Air Defence Corps (PAADC), including one located in Gujranwala. and added that India had targeted Afghanistan with missile and drone strikes. The Taliban government of Afghanistan also denied Pakistani claims of Indian attacks on Afghanistan. The airport was named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and is regarded as a symbol of Pak-UAE friendship. Although commercial flights have been suspended since 2023, the airport was occasionally used by members of the House of Nahyan via the Royal Lounge, which was among the facilities destroyed in the attack. The Pakistan military later confirmed that six of its airmen were killed during the Indian air strikes including 5 deaths at Bholari and one at Sargodha; Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, also later said that nine personnel injured in Indian attacks 

### Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos
In retaliation for Indian strikes, the PAF carried out a coordinated retaliatory air campaign. The primary objective of the operation was to disrupt IAF infrastructure and operational readiness, particularly by targeting airbases and logistical nodes near the Indo-Pakistani border. JF-17 multirole fighter aircraft launched stand-off munitions, including air-launched cruise missiles, against several Indian military installations, including Udhampur, Adampur, and Pathankot air force stations, as well as weapon storage facilities in Uri, Nagrota, and Beas. Pakistan said that a mobile 91N6E (NATO name "Big Bird") acquisition radar was destroyed by a CM-400AKG, and that a 96L6E (NATO name "Cheese Board") 3D early-warning and acquisition radar was also successfully targeted. The Indian Army released images of what it said were debris of Pakistani YIHA-III kamikaze drones destroyed by air defence units. It said multiple armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantonment in Amritsar at approximately 5 am and that the attempt had endangered residential areas.

## Impacts 
Pakistani airspace was closed for 48 hours and all flights were cancelled. In Pakistani Punjab, schools and colleges were closed, and CIE examinations were cancelled in most of Pakistan. In India, at least 25 airports in the north and west were shut down until 10 May. The Indian Air Force took control of Srinagar Airport and civil operations were stopped for an indefinite period.

The 2025 Indian Premier League transferred a match between Punjab Kings and the Mumbai Indians scheduled at Dharamsala on 11 May to Ahmedabad, citing the closure of Kangra Airport and other logistical issues caused by the ongoing tensions. Similarly, during the 2025 Pakistan Super League, a match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi could not be played. 

Stock markets in India and Pakistan experienced significant volatility through the week due to escalating geopolitical tensions, but rebounded sharply on 12 May following the ceasefire agreement. Reports that a Rafale had been downed were followed by a dip in the share price of Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the aircraft. Indonesia, which had placed outstanding orders for Rafales, announced that it was reconsidering its procurement plans and was evaluating China's J-10C fighter as an alternative.
## Aftermaths
## Notes
## See also 
*Protests against the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict
*2025 Indo-Pak ceasefire agreement

## References