New Delhi — A week after 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Kashmir, fears grew of a military conflict between India and Pakistan, both of which have nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s government claimed late Tuesday night that it had “credible intelligence” that India was preparing to launch military action within hours in response to the April 22 terrorist attack, which Indian officials blamed on Pakistani-backed militants.
“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of fabricated and baseless allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at a midnight news conference.
The comments came hours after Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had granted the country’s armed forces “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of our response to the terror attack.”
Modi held a closed-door meeting with senior government ministers and military commanders on Tuesday evening to discuss the response to the attack, which killed at least 26 people, 25 of whom were tourists, in Indian Kashmir’s picturesque Pahalgam area.
India promptly accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack. Islamabad flatly denied all responsibility and offered to conduct an investigation.
“Pakistan has nothing to do with this situation. Period.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, told journalists Tuesday that such allegations are “baseless, preposterous, and politically motivated.”
Dar stated that Pakistan was committed to peace, but its “armed forces are fully alert.” Any misadventure will be met with an appropriate and resolute response.”
The April 22 terrorist attack was claimed by a little-known group called the Kashmir Resistance, but there has been no way to verify the claim made on social media.
Just days after the tourists were killed in the popular vacation spot, India took a number of non-military measures against Pakistan, including canceling a key water-sharing agreement, downgrading diplomatic relations, and requesting Pakistani nationals leave the country. The following day, Pakistan announced similar, reciprocal measures.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety, but each has had control over a portion of the mountainous region for decades. The two nations have fought three wars over the region, which is now separated by a de facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC).
Over the last six days, Indian and Pakistani military forces have exchanged gunfire across the Line of Control.
Since 1989, when an armed anti-Indian insurgency began, the scenic Himalayan region has been subjected to frequent militant attacks. Over the past three decades, the simmering conflict has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
On Tuesday, the United Nations warned of “catastrophic” consequences if the two nuclear-armed neighbors went to war.
“The region and the world cannot afford a confrontation between India and Pakistan, which would be catastrophic for the two countries and the world as a whole,” said Stephane Dujarric, U.N. Secretary-General Antontio Guterres’ spokesperson.
He stated that Guterres had spoken separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s foreign minister.
In phone calls with both sides on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Pakistan to condemn the Kashmir attack and cooperate in an investigation, while also encouraging India to de-escalate.
Modi met with his cabinet again on Wednesday. His government did not immediately respond to Pakistan’s claims of imminent military action.