Pakistan says India planning strike as tensions soar over Kashmir attack

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday that Islamabad had “credible intelligence” India was planning an imminent military strike, vowing a “decisive response” as fears of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.

The statement by Attaullah Tarar came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs the previous day, at which he gave the military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the attack, a senior government source said.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Tarar said in a statement.

Pahalgam is a tourist hub in Indian-administered Kashmir where 26 men were killed on April 22 — the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years. India has accused Pakistan of supporting the attack, a claim Islamabad has rejected.

“Any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response,” Tarar said. “India will be fully responsible for any serious consequences in the region!”

The development comes as countries including China and the United States express concern and urge restraint from the nuclear-armed neighbours.

India’s army said Wednesday it had repeatedly exchanged gunfire with Pakistani troops for a sixth consecutive night across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto Kashmir border. The army reported “small arms firing” at multiple sites, but no casualties.

Pakistan’s military did not confirm the shooting, but state radio in Islamabad said Tuesday it had shot down an Indian drone, calling it a violation of airspace. It did not say when the incident occurred, and there was no comment from New Delhi.

Tensions have rapidly mounted in the week since the Pahalgam attack, with diplomatic tit-for-tat expulsions and border crossings shut.

Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those responsible for the attack and their backers.

“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said Thursday. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”

The escalation has prompted calls for restraint.

The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts to urge both sides “not to escalate the situation.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke Tuesday with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, offering his “good offices to support de-escalation,” his spokesman said.

Sharif’s office later said he had urged Guterres to “counsel India” to show restraint, while pledging to defend Pakistan’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India.”

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both nations claiming the territory in full. An insurgency has raged in Indian-administered Kashmir since 1989, with rebels seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Pahalgam attack — two Pakistanis and one Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation. Authorities announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for each man and have conducted sweeping detentions.

The worst attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in recent years was the 2019 Pulwama bombing, in which a suicide bomber killed 40 paramilitary personnel. India responded with air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.

Iran has offered to mediate, and Saudi Arabia said it is working to “prevent an escalation.”

US President Donald Trump downplayed the situation Friday, saying the dispute would get “figured out, one way or another.”