Pakistan claims India planning to attack within 36 hours as tension between nuclear-armed neighbors soars

New Delhi — A week after 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Kashmir, concern was mounting over a possible military clash between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s government claimed late Tuesday night that it had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to take military action within hours in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack, which Indian officials blame on Pakistani-backed militants.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of concocted and baseless allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at a midnight news conference.

The remarks came hours after Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the country’s armed forces “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack.”

Modi had met with senior government ministers and military commanders behind closed doors on Tuesday evening to discuss the response to the attack, which saw at least 26 people — 25 of them tourists — killed in a rampage by gunmen in Indian Kashmir’s picturesque Pahalgam area.

India quickly accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack. Islamabad flatly denied any responsibility and offered to carry out an investigation.

“Pakistan has nothing to do with this incident. Period.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told journalists Tuesday, calling such allegations “baseless, preposterous, and politically motivated.”

Dar said Pakistan was committed to peace, but its “armed forces are fully alert. Any misadventure will be met with a befitting and resolute response.”

The April 22 terrorist attack was claimed by a little known group that calls itself the Kashmir Resistance, but there has been no way to corroborate the claim made on social media.

Just days after the tourists were killed in the popular vacation area, India took a number of non-military measures against Pakistan, calling off a key water sharing pact, downgrading diplomatic relations, and asking Pakistani nationals to leave the country. Pakistan announced similar, reciprocal measures a day later.

Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, but each nation has controlled its own portion of the mountainous region for decades. The two nations have fought three wars over the region, which is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LoC).

Indian and Pakistani military forces in the region have exchanged gunfire across the LoC repeatedly over the last six days.

The scenic Himalayan region has been hit regularly by militant violence since an armed anti-Indian insurgency began in 1989. The simmering conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives over more than three decades.

On Tuesday, the United Nations warned of potentially “catastrophic” consequences if the two nuclear-armed neighbors were to go to war.

“The region and the world cannot afford a confrontation between India and Pakistan, which would be catastrophic for the two countries and for the world as a whole,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antontio Guterres. 

He said Guterres had held separate phone calls with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s foreign minister.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called on Pakistan to condemn the attack in Kashmir and cooperate in an investigation while also encouraging India to de-escalate, in telephone calls with both sides, the AFP reported.

Modi was meeting again with his cabinet on Wednesday. His government did not immediately issue any response to the Pakistani claims of imminent plans for military action.

Sami Yousafzai

contributed to this report.