Pakistan is able to defend itself, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif mentioned Saturday after a lethal assault in Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, sending already fraught relations right into a tailspin with troopers exchanging gunfire on their contested frontier.
Sharif additionally referred to as for a “neutral investigation”, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst assault on civilians in Muslim-majority Kashmir for 1 / 4 of a century.
Islamabad denies involvement within the April 22 assault concentrating on vacationers in Pahalgam, the place a gang of gunmen killed 26 males.
“Our valiant armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty,” Sharif mentioned at a army ceremony in Abbottabad.
Both sides have imposed a slew of diplomatic measures, whereas Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire in a single day in Kashmir for a second day operating, the Indian military mentioned Saturday.
India’s military mentioned “unprovoked” small arms firing was carried out by “multiple” Pakistan military posts in a single day.
“Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms,” it mentioned in a press release, including that no casualties have been reported.
There was no speedy affirmation from Pakistan, however the two sides had confirmed gunfire between their respective forces the earlier evening.
The United Nations has urged the neighbors, who’ve fought a number of wars prior to now, to point out “maximum restraint”.
U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the tensions, saying that the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.
‘Track and punish’
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both declare the territory in full however govern separate parts of it.
Indian safety forces have launched a large manhunt for these accountable for the assault in Pahalgam, with police naming two Pakistani nationals among the many fugitives.
Indian police say three of the gunmen are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a U.N.-designated terrorist group, and issued a bounty for his or her arrest.
Indian troops blew up properties in Kashmir of their search and issued needed posters with sketches of three males.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday mentioned his nation would “track and punish every terrorist and their backer”, vowing to “pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.
Pakistan’s Sharif mentioned the nation was “open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation” within the assault.
A day after the assault, New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, introduced the closure of the principle land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, and withdrew visas for Pakistanis.
Islamabad in response ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and army advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals – except Sikh pilgrims – and shutting the principle border crossing from its aspect.
Pakistan additionally warned that any try by India to cease water provides from the Indus River could be an “act of war”.
At the frontier, created on the finish of British rule when the sub-continent was partitioned into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, distraught residents crossed.
The measures have abruptly ended uncommon visits to see kin separated for generations by the border.
Among these on the Wagah border leaving Pakistan was 39-year-old Ghaffar Musafir, who was returning to his house in Kashmir.
“I’m Indian, I love India, but my family is here,” he mentioned. “And it’s not like I hate Pakistan — I love Pakistan too.”
Pahalgam marks a dramatic shift in latest Kashmiri insurgent assaults, which usually goal Indian safety forces.
Experts say that an Indian army response should still be within the pipeline.
In 2019, a suicide assault killed 41 Indian troops in Kashmir and triggered Indian air strikes inside Pakistan, bringing the nations to the brink of all-out struggle.
Source: www.dailysabah.com