26.04.2025 11:35
Tension is high between the Asian countries of India and Pakistan. Following a recent terrorist attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir region, soldiers from both countries engaged in armed conflict for the second consecutive day.
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The tension is high following a terrorist attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir region on Tuesday that resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians. Indian and Pakistani soldiers engaged in armed conflict for the second consecutive day. A statement from the Indian army indicated that Indian soldiers responded to fire from numerous Pakistani army posts along the 740-kilometer Line of Control that separates Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir around midnight. It was reported that Pakistani forces also intermittently opened fire around midnight on Thursday, with no casualties on the Indian side.
No statement has yet been made by the Pakistani army.
TERRORIST ATTACK IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
On Tuesday, gunfire was opened at close range to holidaymakers in a tourist spot in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 25 Indian nationals and 1 Nepalese citizen. The attack was claimed by a group called "Kashmir Resistance Front (TRF)," and Jammu and Kashmir police stated that the attack was carried out by three suspects, two of whom were Pakistani. The Indian government downgraded its diplomatic relations with its neighbor Pakistan, citing "cross-border terrorism connections" as the reason for the attack. The Pakistani government denied any connection to the attack and stated that there is a need for an international investigation into the incident.
Following the attack, relations between the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries became strained, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, while India suspended the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which regulates water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries. The Pakistani government announced that it would consider any intervention in the flow of water as a cause for war. The two countries also decided to mutually suspend visa processing and close border gates.
KASHMIR, A DISPUTED REGION
Kashmir has been divided since Pakistan and India gained independence in 1947. Both countries claim rights over the entirety of Kashmir. India refers to the part of Kashmir it controls as "Jammu and Kashmir," while Pakistan calls its controlled territory "Azad Kashmir."
The tensions between predominantly Hindu India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan over Kashmir escalated after the Indian government unilaterally revoked its semi-autonomous status in 2019, deciding to directly integrate Kashmir into New Delhi.
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