Kashmir attack: Pakistan minister claims India planning military strike in 24 to 36 hours

Pakistan says it has “credible intelligence” that suggests India’s military is planning to conduct an imminent strike as the fallout of the tourist massacre in the disputed territory of Kashmir continues to inflame the two rival nations.

The claims came from Pakistan’s information minister Attatullah Tarar, according to Times Of India, which quoted him as saying that Pakistan vehemently rejects “Indian self-assumed hubristic role of judge, jury and executioner in the region”.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Tarar said, a reference to the militant attack on the Kashmir resort town a week ago in which 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, were killed.

India has described the massacre as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, and it was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.

Some tourists who survived the massacre have told Indian media that the gunmen singled out Hindu men and shot them from close range. The dead included a Nepalese citizen and a local Muslim pony ride operator.

The two nations have engaged in escalating diplomatic tit-for-tat battles on visas and river treaties, but the Pakistan minister’s comments are believed to be a major escalation.

Mr Tarar told the Times of India that his country has been a “victim of terrorism” as well, which had given it full understanding of the pain of such a situation: “We have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world.”

However, he also warned that “Pakistan reiterates that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively. The International community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India.”

His statements follow Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif’s claims that India’s “incursion was imminent”, and that Islamabad remained on high alert.

“We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now,” Mr Asif said.

The escalations between the neighbouring countries came as Indian authorities in Kashmir temporarily closed dozens of the tourist resorts in the scenic Himalayan region in its continued security crackdown in the area.

At least two police officers and three administrative officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Tuesday that the decision to shut 48 of the 87 government-authorised resorts was a safety precaution. They did not specify how long these places would be out of bounds for visitors.

Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Indian-controlled Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.