India–Pakistan drone and missile conflict: differing and disputed narratives

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury

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India–Pakistan drone and missile conflict: differing and disputed narratives

The recent four-day conflict between India and Pakistan was the greatest military escalation between the two states in decades. This has ushered in new doctrines by both sides and there will need to be sustained work by the two countries and the international community to return to a stable environment.

The four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan from 7–10 May 2025 was their deadliest in decades. For the first time since the 1971 India–Pakistan War, India targeted Pakistan’s heartland province of Punjab, with Pakistan targeting India’s own Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat states, both with drones and missiles. The exchange of strikes against military installations in Rawalpindi (the headquarters of the Pakistan Army), Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan, and air bases in Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj in India threatened to escalate into a full-fledged war between the two nuclear-armed countries. The United States brokered a ceasefire on 10 May, which continues to hold for now.

India and Pakistan each claim to have successfully met their tactical and operational objectives. Yet both countries continue to propagate differing and disputed narratives of the conflict amid significant misinformation and disinformation campaigns by their media and governments. This has potentially laid the seeds for a ‘second phase’ of the conflict, amid a new assertive Indian counter-terrorism strategy and a more powerful Pakistani army chief. To ensure mutual stability and security, there needs to be sustained political and diplomatic effort by both countries – as well as the international community.