CNN
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Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated further after Pakistan’s top wing officials claimed early on Wednesday that New Delhi had “reliable intelligence” to carry out military action against Islamabad within the next two days.
This claim came when both the US and China urged restraint.
“Pakistan has reliable information that India intends to carry out military operations against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a rare middle post from X.
Tara’s comments come just a week after extremists massacred 26 tourists in Pahargam, a mountainous region of India-controlled Kashmir.
India accused Pakistan of being involved in the attack – Islamabad denies it. Pakistan offers a neutral investigation into the incident. CNN contacted India’s Ministry of Defense to respond to Tarar’s claims.
The generals of the military operations of both countries spoke via the hotline on Tuesday, Indian state broadcasters and Pakistan’s military confirmed on Wednesday – the first conversation between military officials since the attack on Pahargam.
One of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, Kashmir is partly controlled by India and Pakistan, but both countries have fully argued for it.
The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the territory of mountainous regions divided by the Debakut border, known as the Control Line, since their independence from Britain almost 80 years ago.
Last week’s attacks sparked immediate and widespread outrage in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi under heavy pressure to retaliate with force.
India carried out airstrikes within Pakistan in 2019 following the attacks of major rebels on paramilitary personnel in India-controlled Kashmir. It was the first invasion of Pakistan’s territory since the war between two neighbors in 1971.
The latest attacks on Kashmir tourists have sparked fear that India may respond in a similar way.
Modi vowed to chase the attacker “at the end of the earth” in a fierce speech last week. The massacre caused escalating a hostile exchange between the two countries last week.
Pakistani Talal on Wednesday argued that “military adventurism by India will certainly and decisively respond.”
We and China will respond
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the Indian Foreign Minister and Pakistan’s prime minister, urging the two countries to cooperate in “relieving tensions,” according to a State Department read on Wednesday.
In a call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, Rubio said, “talking about the need to condemn the terrorist attacks on April 22 in Pahargam and urging Pakistani officials to cooperate in investigating the attacks in Kashmiri town. Rubio also encouraged Sharif to “reestablish direct communication” with India, reads said.
New Delhi is considered a key Washington partner, aiming to face the counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Pakistan is also an important partner in the United States.
China, which has insisted on controlling part of Kashmir and has been approaching Pakistan in recent years, has also urged control.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishak Dar last week, saying the conflict between Pakistan and India “does not serve the basic interests of each side,” poses a risk to the security of the region, according to the state broadcaster CGTN.
India-China relations have proven to be extremely important in recent years due to their conflict at their contested borders. Meanwhile, Beijing and Islamabad have strengthened their bonds, and China continues to invest in Pakistan under its belt and road initiatives.
A few days after the attack on Pahalgam, the two countries quickly downgraded each other.
India canceled visas for Pakistani citizens, and Pakistan responded with mutual action. Both countries have told diplomats and citizens to return to Japan by April 30th.
There is also India They suspended participation in important water sharing agreements, and both sides banned each other’s airlines from their respective airspace.
The Indus Water Treaty has been in effect since 1960 and is considered a rare diplomatic success story between two Fruct neighbors.
The treaty provides for the sharing of water from the huge Indus River system, a key resource supporting the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in Pakistan and northern India. Indus originates from Tibet and flows through Kashmir, managed by China and India, before it arrives in Pakistan.
Islamabad called attempts to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan an act of war.
This week, New Delhi and Islamabad are both bent their military strength.
Pakistani security sources told CNN that Pakistan fired down an Indian drone used by “spying” in the conflict-Kashmir region on Tuesday.
Two days ago, the Indian Navy said it had carried out a test missile strike to reconsider and demonstrate the preparation of its platforms, systems and crews for long-range precision offensive strikes.
Tensions were also simmered along the line of control, with the shooting being swapped along the border where they had won six consecutive games.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
