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Islamabad/New Delhi — Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has warned that India may launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours, citing what he described as “credible intelligence.”
The remarks follow India’s accusations that Pakistan was involved in supporting militants behind a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last week that killed 26 Hindu tourists near the town of Pahalgam. Islamabad has strongly denied the allegations, calling them baseless.
Tarar said India is using the April 22 attack as a “false pretext” for military action, and warned that any such “adventurism” would be met with a “decisive and assured” response from Pakistan.
The Pahalgam attack is being described as the deadliest targeting of civilians in the disputed region in the past two decades. The territory of Kashmir remains a long-standing flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors, both of which claim it in full but govern parts of it. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the region since their partition in 1947.
Cross-border tensions have escalated in recent days, with intermittent small-arms fire reported along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir.
Speculation is mounting over whether India will carry out retaliatory military strikes, as it did following militant attacks in 2016 and 2019. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam shootings, Indian authorities launched extensive security operations across Indian-administered Kashmir, detaining over 1,500 people for questioning. The number of detainees has since increased, though exact figures remain unclear.
Officials have also demolished the homes of at least 10 suspected militants, one of whom is reportedly linked to a suspect in the recent attack.
While India has yet to identify the group responsible, initial reports had pointed to the Resistance Front — a group believed to be affiliated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — though the group later denied involvement.
Indian police have identified three of the four suspected attackers, naming two as Pakistani nationals and one as a resident of Indian-administered Kashmir. The identity of the fourth suspect remains unknown. According to survivor accounts, the assailants appeared to have deliberately targeted Hindu men.
The attack has provoked widespread outrage in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to pursue and punish those behind the killings. “We will hunt them down to the ends of the earth,” he said, promising justice for the victims in the harshest terms.
As diplomatic tensions mount, the region remains on high alert amid fears of further escalation between the two long-time adversaries.
