By Daanyaal Matthews
India and Pakistan have exchanged blows following India launching airstrikes at nine sites in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India commenced their assault yesterday, titling their operation “Operation Sindoor,” stating that they had attacked “terrorist infrastructure,’ which they argue had been utilized to facilitate terrorist attacks against India. Pakistan claims that the attacks led to the death of 26 individuals and wounded dozens more.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has stated that they are prepared to retaliate, stating they would ‘settle the score.’
Speaking on VOC Newsbeat, Professor Junaid S. Ahmad, Director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Decoloniality and teacher of Law, Religion, and Global Politics in Islamabad, Pakistan, argued the attack by Pakistan is tied to the death of 26 tourists in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, which India largely blames Pakistan for.
“Some type of terrorist attack or militant activity happens in Indian-occupied Kashmir, and the Indians, without any evidence whatsoever, put the blame on Pakistan. That is exactly what happened here,” stated Ahmad.
Ahmad further detailed the attacks have struck a mosque and hurt madrassah (Islamic learning institution) children, which further calls into question the claims that the primary targets were military structures.
“We don’t see any military infrastructure or what they call ‘terrorist training grounds’; instead, we see these largely civilian areas that were targeted, including in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. This has made Pakistanis even more irate, as people that had nothing to do with anything are being targeted,” added Ahmad.
Listen to the full interview here:
