Pakistan says India military incursion ‘imminent’ as crisis deepens over Kashmir attack

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said a military incursion by neighboring India is imminent following a deadly attack in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Asif on Monday said India's rhetoric was ramping up and that Pakistan's military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack.

"We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken," the Pakistani official was quoted as saying.

Security in the Himalayan region of Kashmir has been beefed up since last Tuesday's attack, which resulted in the death of at least 26 people.

Tens of thousands of Indian security forces were deployed to patrol the disputed Muslim majority region.

Cars were searched at checkpoints, as the military and police carried out missions to locate the attackers.

After the Kashmir attack, India identified two suspected gunmen as Pakistani.

According to Indian officials, the Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, has claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation.

Meanwhile, Indian and Pakistani armed forces have exchanged gunfire across the contested Kashmir border for the fourth consecutive night.

India, Pakistan exchange fire across Kashmir border for fourth night

Indian and Pakistani troops have exchanged gunfire along the contested Kashmir border for the fourth night in a row.

India said on Monday that its forces had responded to "unprovoked" firing of small arms by Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that cuts Kashmir region into two.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that his country was "fully prepared to cooperate with any neutral investigators to ensure that the truth is uncovered and justice is served."

Bilateral relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plunged to their lowest level in recent days. 

India has already shut a key land border with Pakistan and stall a water sharing treaty as part of a round of punitive measures against its neighbor. 

In response, Pakistan has canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace to Indian airplanes, and ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers.

The April 22 attack came at a time when US Vice President JD Vance was visiting India on a four-day trip.

The violence was one of the deadliest episodes in a long history of conflict in the disputed Himalayan region that is divided principally between India and Pakistan.

The last major assault in the region took place in 2019, when a suicide bomber killed 40 members of Indian security forces.

Nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan have long accused each other of backing forces to destabilize the other, and New Delhi says Islamabad backs the gunmen behind the insurgency.

Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir's struggle for self-determination.

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