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Pakistan warned on April 30 that India may launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours as tensions between the two nuclear powers continue to mount.
In a statement posted on the X social network, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Islamabad has “credible intelligence” that New Delhi is planning to take military action under the “pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement” in the April 22 terrorist attack on the tourist resort of Pahalgam which killed 26 people.
“Pakistan reiterates that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively. The international community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India,” the minister added.
Pakistan denied any involvement in the terrorist attack, which was claimed by The Resistance Front. Still, India said the attack had “cross-border” links.
New Delhi expelled Pakistani diplomats, closing border crossings, and went as far as halting a vital water-sharing agreement for the first time ever. In retaliation, Islamabad closed its airspace to Indian flights and suspended all bilateral trade.
The tensions translated into military buildup on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir over the last few days, with reports of sporadic clashes.
The LoC is a military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serves as the de facto border. It was established as part of the Simla Agreement at the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Pakistani forces shelled several Indian military posts in the Leepa sector along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on April 29.
A more serious exchange of fire took place in the Sialkot sector, which is located on the internationally-recognized border between the two countries.
India and Pakistan clashed on several occasions in recent years. In 2020, they came very close to an all-out war when India launched a series of strikes against targets in Pakistani territories following a car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, Pakistan responded by shooting down a helicopter and a fighter jet.
The current crisis appears to be more serious as clashes on the ground are clearly intensifying. Any further escalation by either side could spark a war.
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