India has fired missiles on multiple locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir targeting what it said was "terrorist infrastructure" across the border.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, New Delhi said its actions were "focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature," stressing that it avoided targeting Pakistani military facilities.

"India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution," the Defense Ministry said.

The pre-dawn strikes came two weeks after a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam town in India-administered Kashmir, in which 26 people — mainly Hindu men — were killed.

New Delhi said Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organization, carried out the attack and blamed Islamabad for backing it. The Pakistani government has denied the allegation.

India had been widely expected to respond militarily to the attack amid strong domestic pressure for a robust retaliation.

How have Indians reacted to the strikes?

Public reaction in India to the cross-border strikes was overwhelmingly positive. Social media platforms were flooded with slogans lauding the Indian military and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I welcome the operation carried out by the armed forces to avenge the Pahalgam attack. I salute Prime Minister Modi and our forces for giving justice to the victims," Aarti R. Menon, whose father was killed in the Pahalgam attack, told local media in southern Kerala state on Wednesday morning.

Political reactions were also supportive of the operation, which was named "Sindoor," a Hindi word for the vermillion powder worn by married Hindu women on their foreheads and hair. It was a reference to the women whose husbands were killed in front of them in the Pahalgam attack last month.

The country's main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, also backed the military action.

"The military operation was expected but the timing was uncertain," Syed Ata Hasnain, a retired general of the Indian army, told DW.

"Many thought that Prime Minister Modi would be under US pressure to only act in the economic and psychological domain," he said. "But obviously this was a brave decision and it carries his brand, including the symbolism of the name of the operation. I feel there is a level of sufficiency achieved by these actions." 

Fears of escalation

India's strikes were not just limited to the disputed Kashmir region but also targeted areas deep inside Pakistani territory. New Delhi launched similar strikes in 2019 after a suicide bomber attacked an Indian security force convoy, killing 40.

Experts say the scope and intensity of the latest violence exceeds that of the strikes in 2019, with Islamabad on Wednesday calling India's move an "act of war" and vowing retaliation.

Both sides continue to trade heavy artillery fire, heightening concerns that it could escalate into a full-blown conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Lt. Gen. D S Hooda, a former senior commander of the Indian army, said Pakistan will "quite likely" retaliate.

"But this would have been factored into the Indian government's planning. Managing escalation will now be the next challenge. I do not think either country wants a full-blown conflict," he told DW.

A senior official from the Indian defense establishment, who asked not to be named, told DW that the strikes were calibrated to minimize the risk of an all-out war.

"We believe these strikes have established deterrence after the Pahalgam terror strike. This should send the right signals across the border," the official said. 

Ajay Bisaria, a former India envoy to Pakistan, echoed this view.

India's actions are "meant to establish deterrence, targeting known terrorist hubs, but accompanied by a strong de-escalatory message," he said.

"Pakistan's response is sure to come. The challenge would be to manage the next level of escalation. This is where crisis diplomacy will matter," Bisaria added.

India holds civilian defense drills

Indian authorities say they are on high alert and are prepared for a possible response from Pakistan.

India also launched nationwide civil defense drills on Wednesday, the first since 1971 when Pakistan and India went to war.

The drills, involving local police, disaster response forces and local volunteers, aim to assess how well air raid warnings work, check evacuation plans and simulate blackouts, among other things.

S K Chatterji, a former Indian army officer and defense strategist, said if Pakistan retaliates, "it could spill into other theaters of conflict that could necessitate the deployment of land forces along the Line of Control (LoC)," referring to the de facto border that separates the two countries in Kashmir.

He told DW that "it is premature" to predict what could happen next.

"But international pressure should come into play to see that this does not spiral out of control," he added.

Calls for dialogue and restraint

Governments worldwide have already called on both sides to avoid further military escalation. 

US President Donald Trump called it "a shame" and said he hopes "it ends very quickly;"

Germany and France have said the situation is highly concerning. 

"We are deeply worried by last night's clashes between these two nuclear powers," Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a press conference, adding that "now more than ever... reason and clear-headedness are required."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, meanwhile, told public broadcaster TF1 that France "understands India's desire to protect itself against the scourge of terrorism. But we obviously call on both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, to avoid escalation and, of course, to protect civilians." 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and a number of other world leaders have urged both sides to exercise restraint.

Praveen Dhonthi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said, "Only international diplomacy and pressure can diffuse the situation from spiraling into tit-for-tat attacks."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru