Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan and Pakistan’s Arimirs were shocked by multiple missile attacks from India early Wednesday morning, with at least eight people (including a three-year-old child) dead.

Pakistan's military said Indian missiles hit six cities. These include four different places in Punjab - India has attacked Pakistan's largest state for the first time since the 1971 neighbour war. The remaining two targets are Muzaffarabad and Kotli, a city in Pakistan-managed Kashmir.

India claims its operations are called Sindoor, targeting “terrorist infrastructure.”

Pakistan has fought for its own jets for its own jets and claims it has lowered five Indian aircraft - a claim India has not responded to.

The Indian attack occurred within 15 days of picturesque tourists in the picturesque Pahalgham Town of Kashmir on April 22, India blamed armed groups for claiming it was supported by Pakistan. Islamabad denies any role in the attack.

Now, the nuclear-weapon neighbors stand on the cliff of a mature military conflict.

This is what we know about the attack on India, Pakistan’s reaction and the context of this conflict so far.

Where does India fight Pakistan?

Pakistan's military spokesman Lieutenant Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a morning press conference that Indian missiles targeted four locations in Punjab, two in Ariminister Kashmir, Pakistan.

The attack occurred at 1 a.m. (20:00 GMT)

The biggest attack was Ahmedpur Sharqia near the city of Bahawalpur, Punjab. According to Chaudhry, a mosque compound was shot and five people were killed, including a three-year-old girl.

Other attacks occurred in a village near Muridke City, Muridke City and Shakar Garh.

Two sites in Pakistan-managed Kashmir - Muzaffarabad and Kotli - were also attacked, destroying two mosques, according to Pakistani authorities. They said a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy were killed in the attack.

At least eight Pakistanis were killed and at least 35 people were injured in the attack, Choudhury said.

Pakistan's Punjab province declared a state of emergency, with hospitals and security forces on high alert and closed schools on Wednesday.

How does Pakistan respond?

Shortly after the Indian attack, Pakistan's political and military leadership said the country entrusted its defense capabilities and that the fighter jets were "in the air."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in an article on social media platform X that the reply to India was “get it.”

Overnight, the Pakistanis made several claims, including firing up to five fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, modern fighters that India has purchased from France in recent years.

In addition to Chaudhry, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also claimed that international news media claimed that Pakistan had defeated several Indian jets.

However, Pakistan's military also said that India has launched all missiles from Indian airspace. In other words, if Pakistan shoots down Indian planes, then fire at them in Indian air.

Indian authorities have not commented on the claim, or whether all Indian Air Force aircraft participating in the strike can safely return to their respective bases.

Why does India strike Pakistan?

The latest round of conflict between the two nuclear-weapon states comes after an attack on the Baisaran Valley in the Pahalgam region of Kashmir, which is managed by India. The gunman killed 26 men - 25 tourists and a local pony rider - after separating them from the women.

India has for years accused Pakistan of supporting, arming and training armed groups that accused the valley of inciting trouble. Pakistan insists that it only provides moral and diplomatic support to the separatist movement in Kashmir.

After the attack last month, India accused an obscure group, the Resistance Front, and claimed it was a Pakistan-backed group with a safe haven. Pakistan also strongly denied its involvement when it issued its condemnation and demanded a "transparent, credible and impartial" investigation into the incident.

India also said it would retaliate after Pakistan's attacks on troops in 2019 and 2016, with Prime Minister Modi saying the country would hunt Kashmir attackers "the end of the earth."

But two weeks later, Indian soldiers are still combing through the forests of Kashmir, looking for gunmen, even though it has now hit the targets of the entire border.

Why is Kashmir important to India and Pakistan?

This is not the first time that the two largest countries in South Asia (with more than 1.6 billion people, accounting for one-fifth of the world's population) have launched a war in the region.

Indeed, Kashmir's picturesque valley is at the heart of their tensions.

The two neighbors fought three of Kashmir in the previous four wars, spanning 22,200 square kilometers (85,800 square miles). Currently, both countries control parts of Kashmir - China controls another - but continue to have a comprehensive demand.

How has tensions escalated since the Pahalgam attack?

Tensions have escalated since April 22, and finally hit the final blow in already limited diplomatic relations.

• India has suspended its participation in the Indian Waters Treaty, under which they share the water of six rivers in the Indus Valley, each river. Because India is an upper riparian country, it can theoretically limit Pakistan’s access to water entitled to, and it depends on it. India also revoked the visa of Pakistani nationals.
• Pakistan threatens to suspend the Shimla agreement.
• Both countries expel each other's diplomats and nationals, while countries closed their borders and closed their airspace.

In Kashmir, managed in India, authorities have detained more than 2,000 residents, some of whom have demolished the homes of suspected combatants and implemented strict security measures under the counter-terrorism law.

Why does India call it Operation Sindoor?

The Indian military has raided its missiles in Pakistan and Pakistan-managed Operation Sindoor. This name is very important.

Sindoor is the Hindi vermilion word, a red pigment for marrying Indian women and often applies to their foreheads. The name of the Indian military operation apparently refers to the way the gunman shot his victims in Pahalgam on April 22.

Accounts for multiple survivors detail how the gunman isolated male tourists from women and then explicitly identified those who were not Muslims before shooting them to death, while Hindu wives were widowed. After the death of a woman's husband, she usually no longer wears a sindoor.