Explainer

What is happening between India and Pakistan?

A deadly attack in the India-administered region of Kashmir triggered the threat of a war. Here is everything you need to know.

Saturday 10 May 2025 21:57, UK

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Tensions between India and Pakistan reached boiling point this week, with the nuclear-armed neighbours carrying out attacks on one another.

It marked the worst fighting in more than two decades between the countries, which have a long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir - some of which is administered by Pakistan, and some by India.

On Saturday, India and Pakistan confirmed a ceasefire deal after US-led talks to end the clashes.

But hours after the agreement was announced, India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri accused Pakistan of violating the deal.

Pakistan's then responded by saying that it remains committed to the agreement and blamed the Indian forces for violating the ceasefire.

Here's what you need to know about the latest escalations and the history of the conflict.

Ceasefire brokered then broken?

The ceasefire deal was announced by Donald Trump on his social media platform Truth Social. He wrote: "Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The deal was expected to bring a swift end to weeks of escalating clashes, triggered by a deadly shooting on 22 April that India blames on Pakistan, an accusation Islamabad denies.

Both India and Pakistan's foreign ministries confirmed the deal, while Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif labelled it as a "historic victory".

In an address to the nation, Mr Sharif said Mr Trump had played a "pivotal role" in securing the deal, going on to thank Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and "leadership and advice" from the UK and UN.

Mere hours after the agreement was put in place, residents in the Indian-controlled cities of Jammu and Srinagar said loud explosions were heard following a blackout.

Omar Abdullah, the main elected official in Kashmir and Jammu, also took to social media, writing: "What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!"

India's foreign secretary, Mr Misri, later said there had been "repeated violations of the understanding we arrived at earlier this evening".

He called on Pakistan to "halt the violation".

Pakistan's foreign ministry said it remains committed to the ceasefire, and accused India of violating the truce "in some areas".

A spokesperson said: "We believe that any issues in smooth implementation of the ceasefire should be addressed through communication at appropriate levels.

"The troops on the ground should also exercise restraint."

Both sides trade airstrikes

In the days before the agreement, India and Pakistan traded drone and missile strikes, with both sides reporting civilian casualties.

This included on the morning of 10 May, when Pakistan launched airstrikes at "multiple targets" in India, after accusing New Delhi of targeting three airbases inside Pakistan.

Pakistan's military said it had struck more than 25 military sites and posted footage on X showing missiles being fired from what appeared to be a mobile launcher.

India retaliated by launching airstrikes on its neighbour's military bases, in what it called a "measured" response.

In all, dozens of civilians are reported to have been killed on both sides.

Scroll through the below timeline to see how conflict between the two sides has unfolded since last month's attack.

The 'terror attack' that escalated tensions

India's strikes were in retaliation for an attack on 22 April, in which at least 26 people, most of whom were Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen at a beauty spot near the resort town of Pahalgam in the India-administered part of Kashmir.

The attack, which was one of the worst attacks in recent times in Kashmir, happened in Baisaran meadow, which is three miles (5km) from Pahalgam, and known as "mini Switzerland".

India described the massacre as a "terror attack" and said it had "cross-border" links, blaming Pakistan for backing it.

Pakistan denied any connection to the atrocity, which was claimed by a militant group called the Kashmir Resistance.

The terrorist groups India says it targeted

The Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam.

The group, which emerged in 2019, is considered a splinter group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based thinktank.

LeT is listed as a terrorist organisation by the UN. The same group was accused of killing 166 people during a four-day attack on Mumbai in 2008.

At the time, the group was alleged to have close ties to Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Service Intelligence - an accusation Islamabad denied.

On 7 May, India said it launched strikes that hit camps that were run by LeT and by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), another UN-designated terrorist group said to be operating in the region.

Dubbed Operation Sindoor - India's defence ministry said it was hitting "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir "from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed".

Sky's India reporter and producer Neville Lazarus said Sindoor is the vermilion, or bright red, colour a married woman wears in the middle parting of their hairline, indicating marital status.

He said the term being used for the military operation was significant because after the attack on the tourists near Pahalgam, there were many who were left widowed.

What's behind the tension between the countries?

India and Pakistan have fought several wars and conflicts since their independence from Britain in 1947, primarily due to territorial disputes over Kashmir.

Both countries claim the region as their own, but in reality control different sections of the territory.

Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted New Delhi for decades, with many Muslim people in the region supporting the rebels' goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistan's rule or as an independent country.

The dispute over the land has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people since 1947, although outbreaks of sporadic violence had appeared to have eased in recent years.

In 2019, a suicide bomber in a vehicle killed 40 paramilitary soldiers in a military convoy, which brought the two countries close to war.

Before that, there was the Mumbai terror attack in 2008 and in 1999, the 10-week-long Kargil War.

That conflict began after Pakistan's military covertly occupied Indian posts across the line of control (LoC) in the Kargil region.

At least 1,000 combatants were killed on both sides. The fighting stopped after Pakistan asked then US president Bill Clinton to help de-escalate the conflict.

What is happening between India and Pakistan?

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