Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated significantly, raising fears of a new military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations. Pakistan has claimed it possesses “credible intelligence” that India plans to launch a strike within the next 24 to 36 hours, in retaliation for last week’s massacre in Pahalgam, where 26 people were killed—most of them Indian tourists.
The group that claimed responsibility for the attack, “Kashmir Resistance,” was previously unknown. Witnesses report that the attackers targeted Hindu men specifically, shooting them in the head at close range. One of the victims was reportedly killed for refusing to recite the Islamic declaration of faith.
India has blamed Pakistan for supporting the militants, a charge that Islamabad has strongly denied. In response, India has suspended a key water-sharing treaty, sealed its border with Pakistan, and banned Pakistani aircraft from entering its airspace. Pakistan has retaliated by closing its own airspace to Indian flights.
Meanwhile, there have been numerous exchanges of gunfire along the Line of Control in Kashmir, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The Indian government has granted its military “full freedom” to decide the timing and method of any response, increasing concerns that a military clash may be inevitable. The United Nations and the United States have called for restraint and urged both countries to avoid a conflict that could have tragic consequences for the region.
