In a significant international reaction to India's precision strikes on terror bases in Pakistan, US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that the United States had anticipated such a development and expressed hope for a swift resolution. Speaking at a press conference just after the announcement of the airstrikes, Trump remarked, “We just heard about it as we were walking into the Oval. I guess we knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past.”
Addressing the long-standing conflict between India and Pakistan, Trump made a notable gaffe, saying, “They’ve been fighting for many, many decades—and centuries, when you think about it.” He added, “I just hope it ends very quickly.”
The Indian Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting nine specific terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes were carried out in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 people, many of them tourists. Indian authorities described the mission as a measured and precise response, with an emphasis on avoiding escalation—no Pakistani military facilities were targeted, the government noted.
The locations struck by Indian forces included Muridke and Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province, the respective headquarters of the banned terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed—both of which are believed to have orchestrated multiple attacks on Indian soil over the years, including the recent Pahalgam tragedy.
Pakistan’s military confirmed that sites in Kotli and Muzaffarabad in PoK, along with Muridke and Bahawalpur, had come under attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement acknowledging strikes in five locations, asserting that Pakistan “retains the right to respond forcefully.” In a further sign of rising tensions, Pakistan resumed its ongoing artillery fire along the Line of Control in the Bhimber Gali region of the Poonch-Rajauri sector.
The timing of the strikes coincided with two significant domestic events: a nationwide civil defence drill—the first of its kind since the 1971 war—and an expansive Indian Air Force exercise near the Rajasthan border, showcasing India’s heightened state of military preparedness.
This marks India’s third major military response to Pakistan-backed terrorism in recent years, following the 2016 surgical strikes after the Uri attack and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes post-Pulwama. In the wake of the Pahalgam massacre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned of a decisive response and granted full operational autonomy to the Army, Navy, and Air Force to determine the strategy and targets of retaliation.
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