New Delhi/Srinagar/Islamabad, Apr 25 (EFE).— Nuclear powers India and Pakistan exchanged a cross-border fire, officials said on Friday, as tensions escalated into a dangerous new phase of military and diplomatic confrontation following a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The fallout has triggered high-level troop movements and a sweeping anti-insurgency crackdown across Kashmir, with Indian police claiming they demolished the homes of two suspected militants.
A group of militants carried out the April 22 attack in a scenic meadow near the Pahalgam resort, where 26 people, mostly Indian nationals, were gunned down in the worst assault on civilians in the region in 25 years. India blamed Pakistan for orchestrating the assault.
Just hours before Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi visited the region, security forces used excavators to raze houses in the southern districts of Pulwama and Anantnag.
Police identified the suspects as Asif Sheikh and Adil Thoker, alleged members of the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). A police officer told EFE that the demolitions were part of a “zero-tolerance” counterterrorism strategy.
“Both suspects are believed to have orchestrated the Pahalgam attack,” the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Videos shared online showed heavy machinery reducing the homes to rubble before dawn, with forces cordoning off the area during the operation.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), India’s premier anti-terror agency, has launched a probe into the massacre and is interviewing witnesses and tourists who were near the Baisaran meadow, about 100 kilometers from Srinagar, when the attack occurred.
As operations intensified across the Kashmir Valley, the Indian Army reported a firefight with militants in Bandipore, north of Srinagar.
In separate encounters this week, one soldier was killed in Udhampur district and two suspected militants were shot dead, with weapons and ammunition recovered.
India claims it has evidence linking Pakistan to the assault, including proof that at least two of the attackers were Pakistani nationals.
In response, New Delhi has expelled several Pakistani diplomats, revoked all visas for Pakistani citizens, sealed the land border, and suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a crucial agreement governing water sharing between the two nations.
Islamabad retaliated by expelling Indian diplomats, suspending Indian visas, and closing its airspace to Indian carriers.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry warned that any attempt by India to divert river waters under the treaty would be seen as “an act of war.”
Meanwhile, Indian media reported that Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire along the de facto border in the divided Kashmir on Thursday night, firing small arms at Indian posts. Indian troops returned fire. No casualties were reported.
“Small arms firing incidents occurred at some points along the Line of Control initiated by Pakistan,” an unnamed Indian military source told the Indian news agency PTI.
“The firing was effectively responded to. No casualties were reported,” the source added.
Ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, are relatively frequent, with both countries accusing each other of initiating the attacks and only using violence as a defensive response.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani Senate unanimously passed a resolution rejecting India’s accusations and condemning what it called a “politically motivated smear campaign.”
“The orchestrated and malicious attempt by India to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack is condemned,” the resolution read. It also warned that any aggression or “water warfare” would be met with a “firm, swift, and decisive response.”
Kashmir remains the epicenter of decades of conflict between the two countries, who have fought two wars and several skirmishes over the disputed region since their 1947 independence.
The Apr. 22 massacre has dangerously escalated tensions and sparked fears of a broader conflict between the South Asian rivals. EFE
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