Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given India’s military “operational freedom” to respond to a deadly attack in Kashmir last week, a senior government source told AFP Tuesday, after New Delhi blamed it on arch-rival Pakistan.

A week after the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years, Modi on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs, during which he told the armed forces that they had the “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack”, said the government source, who was not authorised to speak to the media.

The government released video images of a stern-faced Modi meeting with army chiefs, as well as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Also on Tuesday, India’s army said it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto Kashmir border, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.

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

It did not say when the incident happened, and there was no comment from New Delhi.

India said the “Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control” overnight Monday to Tuesday, the fifth night in a row that fire was exchanged there.

The Indian army said its troops had “responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation”. There were no reports of casualties.

‘Ends of the Earth’

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 in which 26 men were killed.

Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir and diplomatic barbs, as well as expelled citizens and ordered the main land border crossing shut.

Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, and those who had supported it.

“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said on Thursday.

“We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.

The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a rapid spiral into military action, with several nations, including neighbouring China, calling for restraint and dialogue.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s prime minister and India’s foreign minister to express “deep concern at rising tensions”, his spokesman said.

The United Nations chief “underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences. He offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation efforts,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.

Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the alleged killers.

The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.

Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.

Iran has already offered to mediate and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation”.

US President Donald Trump downplayed tensions, saying on Friday the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.

AFP