India gives army operational freedom to respond to Kashmir attack

NEW DELHI – Pakistan’s Information Minister said early on April 30 that Islamabad had “credible intelligence” that India was planning an imminent military strike, and he vowed a “decisive response”, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.

The statement by Mr Attaullah Tarar came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting the previous day with army and security chiefs, at which he gave the military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the attack, a senior government source told AFP.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Mr Tarar said in a statement.

Pahalgam is a tourist hub in Indian-administered Kashmir where 26 men were killed on April 22 in the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years.

India has accused Pakistan of supporting the attack, a claim Islamabad has rejected.

“Any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response,” said Mr Tarar. “India will be fully responsible for any serious consequences in the region!”

The development comes as nations around the world, from neighbouring China to the US, express deep concerns over the nuclear-armed neighbours’ mounting tensions and urge restraint.

India’s army on April 30 said it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops for a sixth night in a row across the Line of Control, the de facto Kashmir border, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.

The army reported “small arms firing” in multiple sites, but with no reported casualties.

Pakistan’s military did not confirm the shooting, but state radio in Islamabad reported on April 29 it had shot down an Indian drone, calling it a violation of its airspace.

It did not say