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인도, 파키스탄에 미사일 공격…민간인 8명 사망, 33명 부상
인도가 2025년 5월 6일 밤 ‘오퍼레이션 신두르(Operation Sindoor)’라는 이름으로 파키스탄과 파키스탄령 잠무 카슈미르(AJK) 지역에 대해 미사일 공격을 감행했다. 이로 인해 민간인 8명이 사망하고, 여성과 어린이를 포함한 33명이 부상당했다.
인도는 이번 작전에서 AJK의 코틀리(Kotli)와 무자파라바드(Muzaffarabad), 그리고 파키스탄 펀자브주의 아메드푸르 이스트(Ahmedpur East), 무리드케(Muridke), 바하왈푸르(Bahawalpur) 등 6곳을 타격 대상으로 삼았다. 공격 대상은 모스크와 민간 거주지역이었으며, 이에 따라 다수의 무고한 희생자가 발생했다.
이에 대한 보복으로 파키스탄은 인도의 무인기와 전투기 3대를 격추하고, 인도군 여단 본부 하나를 파괴했다고 파키스탄 공식 소식통을 인용한 언론들이 보도했다.
파키스탄군 홍보부(ISPR)의 국장 아흐메드 샤리프 차우드리 중장은 SNS를 통해 “인도가 파키스탄 내 6곳에 총 24차례 미사일 공격을 가했으며, 이로 인해 8명의 무고한 국민이 순국하고 33명이 부상을 입었다”고 밝혔다.
일부 보도에 따르면, 인도는 자국 영토 내에서 스탠드오프(장거리) 무기를 사용했으며, 9개 지점의 테러리스트 인프라를 공격했다는 공식 발표도 있었다.
파키스탄군은 AJK의 바르날라(Barnala) 지역에서 인도 무인기를 격추한 것으로 전해졌다. 또한 파키스탄군의 JF-17 및 J-10C 전투기가 인도 본토로 발사한 PL-15(중국산) 미사일 9발 중 일부는 인도 전투기를 격추하는 데 사용됐으며, 격추된 전투기 중 한 대는 바틴다(Bhatinda), 또 다른 한 대는 아크노르(Akhnor), 세 번째는 아반티푸라(Avantipura, 카슈미르) 인근에 추락한 것으로 알려졌다.
국영 언론인 APP(Associated Press of Pakistan)는 인도 전투기 2대가 격추됐다고 확인했다.
셰바즈 샤리프 파키스탄 총리는 “비열한 적이 파키스탄 내 5곳을 비겁하게 공격했다”며 “이 같은 만행은 반드시 응징될 것이며, 파키스탄은 이에 대한 단호한 대응 권리를 보유하고 있고 이미 보복이 시작됐다”고 밝혔다. 샤리프 총리는 5월 7일 오전 10시 국가안보위원회(NSC) 긴급회의를 소집했다.
여당 연립정부의 핵심 파트너인 파키스탄인민당(PPP)의 빌라왈 부토 자르다리 대표 역시 “인도가 무리드케, 바하왈푸르, 코틀리, 무자파라바드 등 민간지역을 공격한 것은 명백한 전쟁 행위”라고 규탄했다. 그는 “여성과 아이를 겨냥한 공격은 힘이 아니라 야만”이라며 “파키스탄군은 굳건한 국민과 함께 전면 대응에 나서고 있으며, 모든 공격은 반드시 응징될 것”이라고 강조했다.
한편, SNS에서는 “바하왈푸르는 인도 국경에서 약 500km 떨어져 있는데 어떻게 미사일이 도달할 수 있었는가”라는 우려 섞인 질문이 제기됐다. 스탠드오프 미사일의 사거리는 약 120km로 알려져 있으나, 이번 공격은 발사 지점이 40~60km 거리였다는 점에서 인도 공군이 국경 안쪽 100km 이상 진입했을 가능성이 제기되고 있다. 공습 직후, 바하왈푸르 시민들이 추가 공격을 우려해 대피하는 영상이 온라인에서 확산되었으며, 펀자브주의 마리얌 나와즈 주총리는 시민 안전을 이유로 5월 7일을 공휴일로 선포했다.
인도 측에서는 라지딥 사르데사이 대변인이 “인도군은 ‘오퍼레이션 신두르’를 통해 파키스탄 및 파키스탄령 잠무 카슈미르 내 테러리스트 기반시설 9곳을 정밀 타격했다”고 발표했다. 인도 정부는 이번 공습이 지난 4월 22일 인도령 카슈미르 파할감에서 발생한 테러 공격에 대한 보복이라고 밝혔다. 당시 공격으로 인도인 25명과 네팔인 1명이 사망했다. 이 사건 이후 인도는 1960년 체결된 인더스강 수자원 협정을 파기하고, 파키스탄인 비자를 전면 취소했으며, 외교관 추방과 영공 폐쇄 조치도 병행했다. 파키스탄도 이에 상응하는 대응을 취했다.
현재 파키스탄은 자국 영공을 완전 폐쇄하였으며, 다수의 국제선 항공편이 착륙하지 못하고 회항했다.
다음은 영어 원문.
At least eight innocent civilians, including two minor girls, were killed and another 33 injured in missile strikes launched by India under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the night of May 6, 2025.
The Indian missiles targeted six places in Kotli and Muzaffarabad areas of Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and Ahmedpur East, Muridke and Bahawalpur in the southeast region of Punjab province.
India struck in civilian areas, targeting mosques and innocent civilians. In retaliation, Pakistan also shot down an Indian drone, three aircrafts, and destroyed an Indian brigade headquarter, media reports quoting official sources, said.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General, ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations), Pakistan army’s media wing, tweeted, “India struck Pakistan at 6 places, 24 impacts- 8 innocent Pakistanis martyred, 33 injured including women and children.”
Certain media reports say that Indians used stand-off weapons from their own territory and issued a press release that they attacked terrorists at nine points.
Reports further said that the Pakistan Army shot down an Indian drone in the Barnala sector in AJK. Media reports suggest that Pakistan’s PK JF17 and J10C fired 09 PL15 missiles (Chinese) inside India. Tracked IAF jets inside India, shot down two. One fell in Bhatinda and another fell in Akhnor. One UAV shot down as well. Third IAF jet reportedly shot down as well, in Avantipura Kashmir.’ However, a report by Associated Press of Pakistan, a state-run news agency, confirmed shooting down two Indian fighter jets.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his tweet said, “The treacherous enemy has launched a cowardly attack on five locations within Pakistan. This heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished.”
“Pakistan reserves the absolute right to respond decisively to this unprovoked Indian attack — a resolute response is already underway,” he added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday May 7 at 10 am,
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a key partner in coalition government, also tweeted that ‘India’s cowardly and unprovoked attacks on civilian targets in Muridke, Bahawalpur, Kotli & Muzaffarabad are acts of war.’
He said, “The targeting of innocent women and children is not strength, it is savagery. Pakistan’s armed forces, backed by an unbreakable nation, are responding with full force. Every aggression will be crushed. We will not tolerate violations of our sovereignty. Pakistan is united, defiant, and ready.”
Meanwhile, certain people on social media commented, ‘What concerning is that Bahawalpur is nearly 500 km from the Indian border, yet ballistic missiles still managed to strike the city. How were they not intercepted?”
Standoff missiles fired from India have an approximate range of 120km. Fired missiles from almost 40/50/60kms meaning IAF planes were at least 100kms inside India.
A video circulating on social media showed the citizens of Bahawalpur leaving the city for safer places in view of further attacks. The Punjab Chief Minister Ms. Maryam Nawaz, niece of the premier Shehbaz Sharif, has announced a public holiday for May 7 in view of the safety of citizens.
Meanwhile, one Rajdeep Sardesai, an Indian spokesman, tweeted that “The Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted.
The missile strikes come in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 last in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered, an official statement of the Indian government said.
Soon after the Pahalgam incident, India had canceled the Indus Basin Water Treaty of 1960 between two countries, cancelled all the visas of Pakistani citizens, ordered diplomatic staff of Pakistan to leave, and blocked its air space for Pakistan. Almost the same steps were taken by Pakistan in response.
In view of Indian missile strikes, Pakistan has banned all the flights from entering its air space, with the result that many flights could not land in the country and had to fly back.
Military might of India and Pakistan
According to a recent report of Turkish news agency ‘Anadolu’, India fields one of the largest standing armies globally, with over 1.47 million active-duty soldiers.
It has 1,237,000 personnel in the army, 75,500 in the navy, 149,900 in the air force, and 13,350 in the coast guard, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Pakistan, in contrast, has approximately 660,000 active personnel – 560,000 in the army, 70,000 in the air force, and 30,000 in the navy. India also has over 1.6 million – 1,616,050 – gendarmerie and paramilitary forces, with Pakistan’s figure at 291,000, IISS data shows.
In terms of reserve personnel, India has over 1.15 million – 960,000 for the army, 140,000 for the air force, and 55,000 for the navy – and 941,000 for gendarmerie and paramilitary forces, according to IISS. For Pakistan, there are varying figures on military reserves, with the Global Firepower database placing the number at 550,000.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has a numerical advantage with 730 combat-capable aircraft, including the French-built Rafale and the Russian SU-30MKI, according to IISS data.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has 452 combat-capable aircraft, including American-made F-16 jets, JF-17 Thunders jointly made by China and Pakistan, and Mirage III/V fighter aircraft.
India’s navy has 29 principal surface combatants – 2 aircraft carriers, 11 destroyers, and 16 frigates – and 160 patrol and coastal combatants, according to IISS figures. Pakistan has 10 frigates, no aircraft carrier or destroyer, and 21 patrol and coastal combatants.
India also operates 16 submarines, including both nuclear-powered and conventional vessels, while Pakistan has 8 submarines. India possesses 3,740 main battle tanks compared to Pakistan’s 2,537, IISS data shows.
In artillery strength, India has over 9,743 units versus more than 4,619 for Pakistan. Pakistan and India are among a select group of nations worldwide possessing nuclear arsenals.
According to SIPRI data, India has 172 nuclear warheads, slightly more than Pakistan’s arsenal of 170 warheads. India possesses a wide array of missile systems, including nuclear-capable ballistic missiles of short-, medium-, and intermediate-range from the Agni and Prithvi series. New Delhi has also test-fired its intercontinental ballistic missile Agni-V, which has the ability to carry multiple nuclear warheads and an operational range exceeding 5,000 kilometers (over 3,100 miles).
Pakistan has several nuclear-capable short- and medium-range ballistic missile systems, including the solid-fuel Shaheen series and the liquid-fueled Ghauri missiles.
Islamabad also has the nuclear-capable Babur cruise missile, which can be launched from the surface or submarine platforms. It has also test-fired the Shaheen-III ballistic missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons to targets up to 2,750 kilometers (over 1,700 miles) away.
