Concerns of broader military action continue after a fatal attack on the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian-held Kashmir. India and Pakistan have been trading gunfire for a fourth consecutive night after a fatal attack on tourists in Indian-held Kashmir last week.
The Indian military reported responding to “unprovoked small arms fire” from several Pakistan Army outposts around midnight Sunday along the 740km (460-mile) de-facto border between the Indian and Pakistani sides of the disputed territory, both claimed by the two countries since they divided in 1947. The ongoing cross-border fires have stoked concerns of larger-scale military escalation between the two nuclear rival powers.
The Pakistani army has not yet spoken on the most recent exchange of fire. There are no casualties. The clashes follow after militants gunned down 26 individuals near the resort town of Pahalgam in Muslim-dominated Kashmir last Tuesday. It was the worst attack on civilians in Indian-held Kashmir in a quarter-century.
Security personnel and witnesses reported that the assailants separated men during the attack, asking them their names and identifying Hindus before killing them at close quarters. The attack evoked outrage and sorrow in India, with New Delhi blaming Pakistan for backing and financing “cross-border terrorism” in Kashmir. Islamabad denied any involvement and demanded an impartial investigation.
After the attack, India initiated a large security operation, and two of the three suspects were identified as Pakistani. Security forces arrested about 500 individuals for interrogation and raided almost 1,000 homes and forests, searching for the attackers, said a police official from the area quoted by news agency Reuters.
The two countries have since opened a broad array of sanctions against each other. India has suspended the crucial Indus Waters Treaty and sealed its land border with Pakistan. Islamabad has closed its air space to Indian airlines.
