India and Pakistan face off over Kashmir attack. Here's where the rivals stand
NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Pakistan are scrambling resources both military and diplomatic to respond to a crisis triggered by a massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir that has heightened fears of a conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.
India blames Pakistan for backing the gunmen behind the April 22 killing of 26 people, most of them Indian Hindu tourists, and has described it as a terror attack. Islamabad denies the charge.
Both countries have expelled each other's diplomats and nationals, as well as closed their borders and shuttered airspace. India has also suspended a critical water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.
A Pakistani minister last week said his country had 'credible intelligence' that an Indian strike was imminent. There has been no military action from India so far.
Here's where the situation stands since the attack:
World leaders urge de-escalation
After an initial wave of condemnations of the attack on tourists, world leaders are calling for both sides to avoid escalation. The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold closed consultations on Monday to discuss the situation.
International pressure has been piling on both New Delhi and Islamabad — which fought two of their three wars over disputed Kashmir — to ease tensions. Senior officials from the U.S., China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have urged both sides to exercise restraint. Iran has offered to mediate.
Meanwhile, both nations have launched an aggressive diplomatic campaign to shore up support for their positions.
India has made efforts to highlight what it called the 'cross-border link' to the attack by briefing diplomats of dozens of countries.
'The diplomatic outreach this time has been quite extensive and the idea for India would be to showcase whatever evidence it has to its partners and to make a case that whatever actions might be coming from its side has the support of its partners and allies," said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi.
Pakistan has offered to cooperate with an international investigation into the attack and reached out to dozens of foreign diplomats. Islamabad, however, said that it will match or exceed any military action by India.
Tensions on the border, fears in Kashmir
Indian army has said its troops have exchanged gunfire with Pakistani soldiers along the de facto border, the Line of Control, in Kashmir, blaming the neighbour for unprovoked firing for 10 straight nights. Islamabad, meanwhile, has accused India of violating a ceasefire.
In Kashmir, Indian forces have launched a huge operation to hunt the April 22 attackers. At least 2,000 people have been detained and questioned. Some have been arrested under anti-terrorism laws that allow authorities to detain people without formal charges. Indian forces also blew off at least nine family homes of suspected rebels, who have been fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan.
The crackdown has led to fear and anxiety in Kashmir, stirring traumatic memories of the region's decades-long insurgency and India's brutal response.
Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said 'Kashmiris are always the first to bear the brunt of any political or military tensions between India and Pakistan.'
"The collective punishment imposed on Kashmiris and the state violence unleashed against them further inflames the conflict," Donthi said.
India and Pakistan are flexing military might
On Monday, Pakistan's military test-fired a short-range missile, the second test launch since a medium-range ballistic missile on Saturday.
India's navy also test-fired missiles last week.
In 2019, a skirmish between the two countries almost spiralled out of control, before U.S. intervention eased tensions.
——
Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India and Rajesh Roy in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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