Key Points
- Pakistan says it has "credible intelligence" India will soon launch military action against it.
- US secretary of state Marco Rubio has asked both countries to "de-escalate tensions", with the UN also urging calm.
- Tensions between the bordering countries have risen following an attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.
Pakistan says it has "credible intelligence" that India intends to launch military action soon, as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours have escalated following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the United States to press India to "dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly" on Wednesday.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has asked both nations to "de-escalate tensions," a state department spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
During the 22 April attack on the disputed Kashmir, militants segregated men, asked their names and targeted Hindus before shooting them at close range in the Pahalgam area, killing 26 people, officials and survivors said.
India has identified the three attackers, including two Pakistani nationals, as "terrorists" waging a violent revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Pakistan has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation. Hindu-majority India accuses Islamic Pakistan of funding and encouraging militancy in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory claimed by both nations.
Islamabad says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to a Kashmiri demand for self-determination.
Schoolchildren in Kashmir's Muzaffarabad city have been trained on safety measures during war and emergency situations by the civil defence department. Source: EPA / Amiruddin Mughal
Pakistan's government said it had "credible intelligence" that India intends to carry out military action against it in the "next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident".
India's foreign and defence ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
Tell India to 'dial down the rhetoric', Pakistan urges US
Sharif received a telephone call from Rubio on Wednesday, and the Pakistani prime minister asked US to urge India to "dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly", a statement from his office said.
Rubio pressed Pakistani officials to cooperate in investigating the attack, a US state department spokesperson said in a statement after the call.
In a separate phone call on Wednesday, the state department spokesperson said Rubio spoke with Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, reaffirming "the United States' commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism".
The statement from Sharif's office said the prime minister expressed regret that India had chosen to "weaponise water", and stressed that the Indus Waters Treaty did not permit unilateral withdrawal from its commitments.
India shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines on Wednesday, the Indian government said, days after Pakistan banned Indian airlines from flying over its territory.
In a statement early on Wednesday, Pakistan said it condemned terrorism in all forms and will respond "assuredly and decisively" to any military action from India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue and punish the Pahalgam attackers.
Indian, Pakistani military generals attended regular weekly call
Despite the heightened tensions, India and Pakistan's top military generals held their normal weekly phone call on Tuesday, two Indian military sources and a Pakistani official with knowledge of the matter told the Reuters news agency.
"The Indian side objected strongly to unprovoked firing happening from Pakistan," one Indian source said.
A Pakistani official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the talks had happened, but gave no details.
The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment.
The attack on civilians in Kashmir last month was the deadliest such attack in the disputed region in 25 years. Source: AAP / Vaibhav Shukla/AP
No casualties were reported.
India and Pakistan last reaffirmed their ceasefire understanding in 2021 and their military commanders have held weekly talks over the phone every Tuesday to review conditions along the de facto boundary, the Indian army has said.
India's Cabinet Committee on Security, consisting of Modi and his interior, defence, foreign, home and finance ministers, also met on Wednesday, local media reported, its second session since the April 22 attack.
Modi told his military chiefs earlier this week they have the freedom to decide the country's response to the Pahalgam attack, a government source said.
United Nations urges countries to avoid confrontation
UN secretary-general António Guterres, in separate phone calls with India and Pakistan, stressed the need to "avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences".
The United Kingdom has called for calm between its Indian and Pakistani communities, and advised against all travel to Jammu and Kashmir — India's official name for the territory — with few exceptions.
