Pakistanupdated 26m ago3 min read
Pakistan’s Attaullah Tarar Warns India Military Action Within 24 To 36 Hours
“New Delhi has offered no proof for its claim of Pakistani state involvement”
“New Delhi is still pointing the finger at Islamabad, which it has long accused of supporting cross-border terrorism.”
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Pakistan claims credible intelligence India will launch a military strike within 24-36 hours. Escalation follows a deadly Kashmir attack involving tourists, fueling cross-border tensions.
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Strike warnings and border clashes
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan has “reliable information” that India intends to carry out a military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours, as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals escalated. Pakistan’s warning followed days of military movements on the land border, with India moving electronic warfare equipment to the Pakistani border and “for several consecutive nights clashes between soldiers of both countries have occurred, with no casualties reported.” India said it would respond strongly to the attack last week that killed 26 people in the mountainous region of Pahalgam, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and those who support them.”
“Any aggression will be met with a decisive response. India will bear full responsibility for any serious consequences in the region.”
Pakistan also said it shot down an Indian-origin spy drone, while India accused Pakistan of responsibility for the Pahalgam attack and Islamabad denied involvement. Earlier, the sources describe the April 22 attack in Pahalgam as gunmen opening fire at various tourist groups, killing 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese, with the attack claimed shortly after by the Resistance Front (TRF).
UN appeals and competing timelines
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned India and Pakistan against “tragic consequences,” and the UN said he spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters that Pakistan had strengthened its forces in anticipation of an imminent Indian incursion, while he said Pakistan would not use its nuclear arsenal unless there was a direct threat to its existence. Pakistan’s information minister also framed the threat as a matter of timing, saying India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours, and the minister added that “any aggression will be met with a decisive response.”
India’s side described the immediate military picture as an exchange of fire along the Line of Control for the sixth consecutive night, while Pakistani forces and an Indian military source indicated that a weekly call occurred on Tuesday. Historically in the same reporting stream, the sources describe India closing more than half of the tourist sites in the portion of Kashmir under its control starting yesterday to tighten security after the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam.
Airspace bans, visas, and market jitters
India closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines, with the ban remaining in place until May 23, and Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian aircraft as part of the diplomatic downturn since the April 22 attack. Pakistan issued directives to air traffic controllers to ramp up monitoring of Pakistani airspace, while Pakistan International Airlines canceled flights to Gilgit and Skardu in Pakistan-administered Kashmir due to security concerns. The diplomatic escalation also included visa measures, with India ordering almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country and the sources describing Pakistani nationals crossing to the mainland after the deadline for them to leave had passed.
“The country’s main benchmark index, the KSE-100, fell by 3.18%.”
Pakistan’s stock market fell as fears of a possible Indian attack mounted, with the KSE-100 falling by 3.18% and the Sensex falling 0.06% and the National Stock Exchange of India declining 0.01%. Earlier, the sources describe India suspending its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty and asking Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi to leave the country within a week, while Islamabad announced it would consider intervention in the rivers outside the Indus Water Treaty an act of war.