Two more Pakistani soldiers die of wounds, military toll hits 13 in India clash

Pakistan’s military confirmed on Wednesday that two more soldiers have died from wounds sustained in recent clashes with India, raising the death toll to 13 troops and 40 civilians in one of the fiercest border confrontations between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.

The latest fatalities -- identified as Naik Asif Mehmood of the Pakistan Army and Senior Technician Kamran Ali of the Pakistan Air Force -- succumbed to injuries sustained during the broader military escalation that included Operation Bunyān-un-Marsūs, Pakistan's retaliatory response to Indian strikes.

They join eleven other servicemen who lost their lives in what the military calls "the defense of the motherland."

The fallen soldiers include:

Pakistan Army:

• Naik Abdul Rehman
• Lance Naik Dilawar Khan
• Lance Naik Ikramullah
• Naik Waqar Khalid
• Sepoy Muhammad Adeel Akbar
• Sepoy Nisar

Pakistan Air Force:

• Squadron Leader Usman Yousuf
• Chief Technician Aurangzeb
• Senior Technician Najeeb
• Corporal Technician Farooq
• Senior Technician Mubashir

The operation was launched after what Islamabad describes as an "unprovoked" Indian aerial assault on the night of May 6–7 that killed 40 civilians, including 15 children and seven women, and left over 120 wounded.

"They stood firm in defense of the motherland," the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, paying tribute to the fallen troops. The updated toll includes eight army personnel and five air force members, with 78 others still recovering from injuries.

Roots of conflict run deep

The violence marks a dangerous escalation in the long-simmering Kashmir conflict, reignited after India accused Pakistan of backing a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denies involvement, calling for an independent probe.

New Delhi insists its strikes targeted "terrorist infrastructure" across the Line of Control, but Islamabad maintains residential areas were hit -- a claim bolstered by satellite imagery reviewed by international observers.

Fragile truce under strain

A ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend has temporarily halted hostilities, though tensions remain fraught. While Pakistan welcomed Washington’s mediation, India has conspicuously avoided crediting the U.S., reiterating that Kashmir is a bilateral issue.

The economic fallout has been severe: Pakistan’s stock market swung violently, with the KSE-100 index plunging before rallying 9% Monday, while Indian equities saw $83 billion in outflows during the crisis.

In New Delhi, opposition leaders are demanding transparency, with the Congress party pushing for a special parliamentary session to scrutinize the government’s military strategy and diplomatic posture.

The human cost

Beyond the statistics lie shattered families—on both sides of the divide. In Rawalakot, villagers buried a 6-year-old girl killed in the Indian strikes; in Indian-administered Kashmir, Indian soldiers mourned comrades lost in Pakistan’s counterattack.

Since their bloody partition in 1947, Pakistan and India have fought three wars over Kashmir, a region both claim in full but govern in part. With armies massed along the frontier and nationalistic rhetoric flaring, analysts warn the latest ceasefire may be just another pause in an intractable conflict.