The Pakistani military has brought down five Indian jets in retaliation for late-night strikes launched by its neighbouring country at six sites, including in Punjab’s Sialkot and Bahawalpur, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The military confrontation between Pakistan and India began a little after 1am on Wednesday with the Indian air strikes when the neighbouring country launched what it termed “Operation Sindoor”. Soon after reports emerged, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the strikes, saying that India had carried out the attacks from within its airspace. The military spokesperson provided an updated damage assessment of the scenario at around 4am, reporting the death of eight civilians.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the downing of two Indian jets around 2:45am after Pakistan launched its swift response, while the confirmation for the third plane, a Rafale aircraft, came an hour later. Confirmation of the fourth and fifth Indian jets being taken down came after 5am by Tarar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Providing further updates on the casualties, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the number of lives had risen to 26 civilians across six localities that India hit, with 46 injured.

White flag by India on LoC: Tarar
Talking to the media around 7am at the information ministry, Tarar asserted that India had waved a white flag at the Line of Control and “accepted defeat”. The minister said this as footage of a white flag played in the background.

“They have been forced to wave a white flag,” Tarar said. PTV News also shared footage of a white flag hoisted seemingly on top of a structure.

Tarar further said that “several” posts of the Indian army across the border had been destroyed by the armed forces.

He recalled that Pakistan had called for a probe into the Pahalgam attack but India “conducted this attack and then fled from it”. “It is a cause of shame for them that they targeted innocent labourers and citizens,” he added.

According to the minister, Pakistan did not target any civilians in India in its retaliatory actions.

Security personnel cordon off a street as local residents evacuate their homes near the site of a strike in Muzaffarabad, AJK, May 7. — AFP
Key highlights:

India launches late-night strikes at sites of Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh and Muzaffarabad
Eight Pakistanis slain, 35 injured, mosques targeted
Five Indian jets downed in military retaliation
Indian brigade headquarters, Indian checkpost along LoC destroyed
Flights on ground put on hold while all inbound, outbound flights diverted to Karachi
National Security Committee meeting summoned at 10am PST

Trump terms India’s actions a “shame”; China and UN call for restraint
In an interview to Bloomberg TV, Defence Minister Asif said that Pakistan has shot down five Indian planes and multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, with checkposts destroyed along the Line of Control.

Similarly, appearing on Geo News at 5:09am, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also said that Pakistan had downed five Indian jets.

“[We shot jets down] in Akhnoor, Ambala, Barnala and in Jammu. We also shot down quadcopters and a big drone,” he stated. “It is an ongoing situation, we need to see what India does.”

The military, Reuters reported, said the five Indian fighter jets included three Rafale planes and one each of Russian planes, a Su-30 and MiG-29.

A spokesman for the military told Reuters Indian planes were only targeted after they attacked Pakistan.

There was no word from India on the downing of the jets, which would be the most serious loss for the Indian military in decades and risked further escalation.

The Rafale fighter is a new addition to India’s military, part of a plan to modernise its military, reduce dependence on Russian-origin equipment, and boost domestic weapons production to supply forces deployed along two contentious borders with Pakistan and China.

Before the clash, the Indian Air Force operated 36 Rafale fighters, while the navy’s aircraft fleet mainly comprises Russian MiG-29 jets.

India signed a deal with France’s Dassault Aviation on Monday to buy another 26 Rafale fighter aircraft worth 630 billion rupees ($7.4bn) for its navy in late April.

Tarar earlier said that Pakistan’s military response was ongoing but did not share operational details. “We shot down two Indian planes and we are responding to Indian aggression right now as we speak,” he told British broadcaster Sky News.

“Indian media, in a state of frenzy, is continuously running fabricated stories about losses of Pakistani Air Force and false claims of damaged aircraft,” PTV had said, stating, “No Pakistan Air Force aircraft has sustained any damage.”

The prime minister has summoned a meeting of the National Security Committee at 10am.

In the wake of the attack, Punjab has shut all educational institutions across the province today, and all exams scheduled for today have been postponed, according to a notification from the Punjab Higher Education Department.

“However, examinations scheduled by [or] on behalf of International Examining bodies shall not be affected by this postponement,” the notification said.

The strikes come as tensions have been escalating intensely between the two countries in the wake of a militant attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The April 22 attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in one of the deadliest assaults since 2000. India, without investigation or evidence, implied “cross-border linkages” of the att­a­­­c­kers. Pakistan has firmly rejected the claim and called for a neutral probe.

Last week, Pakistan reinforced its forces as it expected an incursion and India’s premier granted “operational freedom” to his military. The military had warned of a “swift” response to any misadventure by New Delhi, while diplomatic channels had remained engaged to prevent escalation.

ISPR damage assessment: 4am
In a short press briefing, DG Chaudhry provided the stats from the damage assessment: “A total of 24 impacts have been reported by India, with different weapons, in six localities. In these six localities, eight Pakistanis have been slain, 35 have been injured and two are missing, based on our damage assessment.”