Pakistan says it has killed dozens of Indian soldiers in Kashmir, as it responds to Indian airstrikes. India targeted what it called „terrorist infrastructure“ yesterday after an attack in its area of Kashmir last month. Listen to The World podcast below as you scroll.
Thursday 8 May 2025 17:12, UK
Thanks for following our coverage of the India-Pakistan conflict.
After another busy day of developments, we’re pausing our live updates for now. Here’s a round-up of the day’s main developments.
Drones downed – Pakistan
We began with an update from Pakistan, which said it shot down 12 drones from India earlier this morning.
The country’s military spokesperson vowed India „will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression“.
Pakistan also reported that 31 civilians have been killed in India’s strikes on the country and Pakistan-administered territory on Wednesday – that’s risen from 26.
But India continued its firm stance on any potential retaliation from Pakistan, insisting any military attacks „will be met with a very, very firm response“.
Pakistan says Indian soldiers killed – India targets air defence
Later, Pakistan’s information minister claimed that the country’s military has killed „40-50 Indian soldiers“ along the de facto border between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of the disputed Kashmir region.
Moments afterwards, India’s government released a statement which reflected the escalating tensions between the two countries.
It claimed Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in the north and west of the country overnight.
India also said its armed forces targeted air defence systems and radars across a range of locations in Pakistan, adding that a system in Lahore had been „neutralised“.
India points to ‚original escalation‘
India’s foreign secretary also held a news conference and described the gun attack by „terrorists“ in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month as the „original escalation“.
Vikram Misri went on to accuse Pakistan of spreading misinformation about India’s strikes on Wednesday, and said the country was giving state funerals to „terrorists“.
Your questions answered
A reminder – our defence and security analyst Michael Clarke answered your questions on the conflict between India and Pakistan with our lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim.
You can watch the full Q&A in the video below.
By Saywah Mahmood, data journalist
India’s overall military capability significantly exceeds that of Pakistan.
It ranks fourth in the world compared to Pakistan’s 12th place, according to Global Firepower’s index, which considers a range of factors to assess military strength – for reference, the UK ranks sixth on that list.
In terms of personnel, India has 1,237,000 active personnel in its army, 75,000 in the navy and a 149,900-strong air force.
Pakistan has fewer than half that, with 560,000 active personnel in the army, 30,000 in the navy and 70,000 in the air force.
To put this in perspective, data published at the start of the year showed the UK Armed Forces have 180,780 active personnel, with 37,601 in the navy and 108,413 in the air force.
India and Pakistan need to „commit to dialogue“, a resident in Lahore has told our team on the ground.
Speaking from Gulberg market, the resident said „everyone was concerned“.
They said: „No one is mediating this conflict properly. No other country is mediating or committing to investigate and even understand whether the attack on India was authorised by Pakistan or not?
„At the end of the day, war is not the solution. At the end of the day, everyone needs to commit to dialogue – that’s more important.
„And dialogue doesn’t happen if people don’t come to the table. Until then, there will be no consensus.
„These kinds of attacks are not right. In first world countries these attacks have been resolved. And I think that it’s about time these problems should stop in our countries too.“
The resident added India should be „aware the Pakistani army is one of the best in the world“ and „we will respond“.
We brought you updates from the Indian foreign secretary’s news briefing this afternoon as he accused Pakistan of misinformation.
But there were some notable things Vikram Misri didn’t address, starting with the claim for Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar that up to 50 Indian soldiers had been killed (see 10.20 post).
Misri didn’t discuss that claim in the news briefing, and he wasn’t asked a question about it either.
Another area of confusion is Pakistan’s claim that it shot down five Indian fighter jets (see 9.38 post).
China’s foreign ministry said it was „not familiar with the matter“ when asked about its jets being used in the conflict, and Misri didn’t directly answer the question in his news conference.
He instead pointed out that information will be shared at the right time.
India also released a statement earlier today claiming it has „neutralised“ an air defence system in Lahore (see 10.43 post), but Misri told reporters he wouldn’t be going into operational details.
In a special extra episode, Yalda Hakim talks to Sky News‘ India reporter and producer Neville Lazarus in Delhi on the roots of the latest hostilities between the two nuclear armed countries and asks if this has the potential to escalate into a global conflict.
To get in touch or to share questions, email theworld@sky.uk
Click here to visit their YouTube channel where you can watch all the episodes.
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India launched a missile attack on Pakistan and the territory Islamabad administers in Kashmir, killing at least 31 civilians, Pakistani officials have said.
India said it struck nine Pakistani sites early on Wednesday that provided „terrorist infrastructure“, and from which attacks against it were orchestrated.
But Pakistan’s defence minister said all the areas hit were civilian places, not militant camps.
Watch: Our international correspondent Alex Rossi breaks down how we got here.
One hit the Subhan Mosque in the city of Bahawalpur in Pakistani Punjab, killing 13 people including a child, according to Zohaib Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, an Indian police official said 10 people have been killed and 48 injured in Pakistani shelling of Indian administered Kashmir, while a Pakistan military spokesperson has also claimed five Indian jets were shot down over Kashmir, but this has not been verified.
It all marks the worst fighting in more than two decades between the countries, in a region that has long been at the heart of their conflicts – so, what’s happening?
We’ve told you about Pakistan claiming the US has taken the lead in de-escalation efforts (see 14.38 post).
Pakistan’s government has now said the country’s prime minister has held a call with US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Rubio is reported to have emphasised the need for both Pakistan and India to work closely to de-escalate the situation.
He also told Shehbaz Sharif that the US is closely following the situation in South Asia as it was committed to promoting peace and stability in the region.
An update to bring you now on a video we showed you earlier of a cricket stadium damaged in Pakistan (see 13.07 post).
The Rawalpindi cricket stadium appeared to be damaged from an Indian drone just hours ahead of it hosting the Pakistan Super League match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has now issued a statement, saying that match has been rescheduled.
While it did not mention the reason for the change, it added that a new date would be announced in due course.
We’ve just brought you comments from India’s foreign secretary, who said „many“ countries have been in touch with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Wednesday’s strikes (see 14.01 post).
But who is taking the lead in talks between India and Pakistan?
Pakistan’s defence minister has shed some light on that, saying the US is leading global efforts to reduce tensions in the conflict, with Gulf nations also involved.
Speaking on the prospect of a retaliation, Muhammad Asif said India’s drone attacks into Pakistan have made a response „increasingly certain“.
India has kept a firm stance on Pakistan’s potential next steps, insisting any military attacks „will be met with a very, very firm response“ (see 10.09 post).
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India-Pakistan live: Pakistan says it has killed dozens of Indian soldiers – but questions about claims still unanswered – Sky News
