India’s army on Tuesday 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.
“ENDS OF THE EARTH”
Tensions have been rapidly mounting in the week since the Pahalgam attack, with tit-for-tat diplomatic barbs, expulsion of citizens and land border crossings shut.
Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack, 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 spiral into military action, with calls from several nations for restraint.
The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts soon to urge them “to not escalate the situation.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in which he “offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation”, his spokesman said.
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