Operation Sindoor

On the night of May 6–7 (2025), India launched a targeted operation against terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). The military action, the government said, was a direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead, most of them Indian tourists.

The government said it struck the headquarters belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Bahawalpur, home to Jaish and its leader Masood Azhar, and Muridke, linked to Lashkar and its founder Hafiz Saeed, were among the cities targeted. These groups have been tied to some of the deadliest terror attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the recent massacre in Pahalgam.

Of the nine terror sites India says it has struck in Pakistan and PoK, four are said to be Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistan Punjab and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in PoK. All these cities are home to terror camps.

Unlike previous Indian military operations—often given conventional or mythological names to convey strength or maintain secrecy—Operation Sindoor carries a poignant emotional resonance. It reflects a deliberate effort to blend military action with a tribute to civilian loss and national grief.