From Pahalgam to Operation Sindoor: 19 Days That Brought India, Pakistan To The Edge

A year has gone by since the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 civilians, setting off a four-day escalation between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan before a ceasefire was reached on May 11.

Beyond the military confrontation, both nations launched a parallel diplomatic offensive, taking their complaints to international bodies and accusing each other for instigating the crisis. Modi went on record stating that the attackers will be chased down “to the ends of the earth,” whereas Pakistan sought proof to back India’s allegations regarding its involvement in the Pahalgam massacre.

The escalation led to a war of words between the two countries, which share a fraught history and three previous wars. Emotions surged on both sides after the deadly terror attack, while the Indian Armed Forces launched search operations for those responsible.

In Kashmir, this led not only to the demolition of properties linked to suspected militants, but also to a series of diplomatic measures that remain in force today. The Cabinet Committee on Security in a special briefing on April 23 said the Indus Waters Treaty will be put on hold until Pakistan ends support for cross-border terrorism.

Despite the three wars in 1965, 1971, 1999, the treaty was never suspended. But, as of 20 March 2026, the Indus Waters Treaty remains in abeyance. “For India, the Indus Waters Treaty had long hampered infrastructure development in Jammu & Kashmir, restricting projects to run-of-the-river designs. Suspension of the treaty gave India full control over western rivers like Jhelum and Chenab, enabling construction of new reservoirs in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, and Haryana,” said the India government said on May 14.

Additionally, the Attari Integrated Check Post was shut, with a deadline of May 1. Pakistani nationals were barred from travelling to India under the SAARC Visa. Military advisers at the Pakistan High Commission were declared persona non grata and staff strength at both high commissions were cut.

Pakistan too announced a series of retaliatory diplomatic measures against India. In a statement released by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif office, he said that while Pakistan was concerned about the loss of tourists’ lives Pahalgam, “the Committee reviewed the Indian measures announced on 23 April 2025 and termed them unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit”.

“In the absence of any credible investigation and verifiable evidence, attempts to link the Pahalgam attack with Pakistan are frivolous, devoid of rationality and defeat logic,” underscored the statement.

Islamabad also announced the closure of the Wagah border, and ordered all Indian citizens, except Sikh pilgrims, to leave within 48 hours. Pakistan, too, suspended visas for Indians under the SAARC Visa, reduced staff at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to 30, closed its airspace to Indian aircraft, and halted all trade with India. The airspace remains closed still 24 May 2026.

The announcements sent both countries into a frenzy, with those Pakistani and Indian nationals rushing to the Wagah border to return home. Border Security Force made their displeasure known through not opening their gates on Attari Border and not participating in the usual handshake with Pakistan Rangers in the ceremony of Beating Retreat.

The announcements also separated families, with many who had settled on the other side of the border now having to choose. An all-party meeting convened on April 24, convened by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Congress MP, reiterated that the Opposition stands firmly with the government in the wake of the tragic incident.

“We have made it clear that whatever action the government takes in this matter, the Opposition will support it,” he said. Beyond the national stage, India and Pakistan took their dispute to the United Nations. Pakistan denied any involvement in the 22 April attack. In a 2 May statement to the UN Correspondents Association, Iftikhar Ahmad accused India of “continu[ing] to weaponise terrorism and unsubstantiated allegations” for narrow political ends.

Pakistan Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif also called for an international investigation into the attack. Consultations on May 5 marked the first time United Nations Security Council members formally met to discuss the crisis. Earlier, on April 25, the Council issued a press statement on the attack, drafted by the United States in its role as penholder on counterterrorism.

The statement condemned the attack in Jammu and Kashmir in the strongest terms, reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms remains one of the gravest threats to international peace and security, and stressed the need to hold those responsible to account.

While Secretary-General António Guterres’ said that “It is also essential – especially at this critical hour – to avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control,” the two countries entered into an escalation that went on for four days. (https://x.com/UN_News_Centre/status/1919428134736163096?s=20 )

Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on the night of May 7 and May 8 by to “deliver justice to the victims of Pahalgam terror attack and their families”. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and allegedly destroyed, India said. It carried out a microscopic scan of the “terror landscape” and “identified numerous terror camps and training sites.”

Pakistan, which denied any involvement in the April 22 attack, described the strikes as "unprovoked", with Sharif stating the "heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished".

Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Geo TV that the strikes hit civilian areas, adding that India’s claim of “targeting terrorist camps” was false, BBC reported. Soon after, Pakistan’s military said at least 31 people were killed and 57 injured in night strikes.

India’s army said at least 15 civilians were killed and 43 injured by Pakistani shelling on its side of the de facto border. In a retaliatory operation named Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos on May 10, Pakistan initiated a series of drone and UCAV attacks targeting key Indian airbases and logistics infrastructure.

India claimed that these attempts, however, were effectively neutralised by India’s “comprehensive and multilayered air defence architecture”.

The violence escalated into one of the most volatile confrontations between the two nations in recent history, with the international community urging both countries to exercise restraint and seek de-escalation.

After days of strikes and counter-strikes, a ceasefire was reached and surprisingly announced by US President Donald Trump.

India said that “inflicted by this heavy damage, Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called the Indian DGMO and it was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours IST on 10th May 2025”.

Later, Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary of India, said that “the talks regarding cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan under the existing channels established between both militaries."

However, Pakistan later nominated Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic intervention in the India-Pakistan crisis.

In total, Donald Trump has claimed more than 90 times halted the conflict. He has repeated the assertion in the United States and abroad since May 10 last year, when he announced on social media that the two countries had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington.

A year on, the escalation of events between April 22 and May 11 remain a stark reminder of how swiftly a single terror attack can bring two nuclear powers to the verge of catastrophe.