Indian and Pakistani troops have traded gunfire across the highly militarised frontier in Kashmir for a second day as tensions flare between the nuclear-armed rivals. The exchange of fire came after a deadly attack took the lives of 26 people in what India claims was a Pakistan-backed "terror attack".
Pakistan denies India's charge. The assault near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance. Most of those killed were Indian tourists. The Indian army said in a statement on Saturday (April 26) that soldiers from multiple Pakistani army posts opened fire overnight at Indian troops all across the Line of Control de facto border in Kashmir. It added that Indian troops responded "appropriately" with small arms and there were no reported casualties.
At the time of writing, Pakistan had not commented. The incidents have not been independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the region.
Markets and bazaars were open in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Saturday and there was no sign of people being evacuated from villages near the Line of Control.
India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and closed the only functional land border crossing after the attack on Tuesday (April 22). It also revoked visas issued to Pakistanis with effect from tomorrow.
Pakistan retaliated by cancelling visas issued to Indians, closing its airspace to Indian airlines and suspending trade with its neighbour.
Nationals from both sides began heading to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Friday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed his government would respond "with full force and might" to Indian attempts to stop or divert the flow of water.
He also said Pakistan was open to participating in any "neutral, transparent and credible investigation" into the tourist attack.
A Pakistani official from the country's disaster management agency, Saeed Qureshi, accused India of suddenly releasing large amounts of water into the Jhelum River, raising fears of flooding in parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Mr Qureshi said authorities ordered people living along the riverbank to evacuate. A spokesman for India's External Affairs Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism, a charge its neighbour rejects. Many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 to unite the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
After this week's attack, Indian forces have intensified a crackdown in the Kashmir Valley, a heartland of anti-India rebellion. Three police officials said they detained and questioned at least 1,500 people.
Troops detonated explosives in the family homes of at least three suspected militants in southern Kashmir on Friday night, according to locals.
In one incident, dozens of other houses were damaged, with their windowpanes shattered and walls cracking due to the impact of the blast.
The police officials insisted on anonymity, in keeping with their departmental policy, while the villagers feared reprisals from authorities if they gave their names.
On Friday, troops also destroyed the family homes of two suspected militants whom they accused of being involved in the attack.
Iran has offered to mediate between the two countries, with which it is an ally. Iranian Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi said: "Tehran stands ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to forge greater understanding at this difficult time."
