Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a military response after Indian air strikes killed several people today, in the worst escalation between the two countries in more than two decades. Pakistan called the Indian attacks "a blatant act of war."
The two countries have fought three wars, all of which have been linked to Kashmir. Both countries have nuclear weapons.
Indian authorities claim that at least ten people were killed and 32 injured in the crossfire, while Pakistan says 26 people were killed and 46 injured in Indian airstrikes and cross-border firing.
An emergency meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee ended today with a decision authorizing the country's military to respond to the Indian attack.
In a statement after the meeting, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter, Pakistan said it had the right to self-defense and warned that it reserved the right to respond to India "at a time, place and manner of its own choosing" to avenge the loss of civilian lives and "violation" of sovereignty.
"The National Security Committee calls on the international community to recognize the seriousness of India's unprovoked illegal actions and to hold it accountable for its blatant violations of international norms and laws," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
It added that India had "once again sparked a fire in the region".
Following the decision, crowds gathered in several Pakistani cities to express their anger over the Indian attack and support retaliation.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with the army," Peshawar protester Fazal Hussain told Radio Mashal, a program of Radio Free Europe. "We will raise the Pakistani flag" in Delhi, he said.
Another man at the rally, Abdul Hanan, said India had carried out a "cowardly attack".
(Radio Slobodna Evropa, Ne.V.)
In his first public statements after India's attacks on Pakistan, Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of India's Jammu and Kashmir, said that no one in the region wants war between the two countries, but that the responsibility for "unleashing the weapons" lies with Islamabad.
Abdullah said the Indian government had chosen the "right path" to give a "befitting response" to those behind the militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
"Only terrorist strongholds in Pakistan were hit, not military zones or civilians. But Pakistan bombed some areas and our civilians were the targets of that attack," he told the ANI news agency, referring to shelling along the de facto border between the countries.
The Chief Minister also assured the citizens of the region that there is no reason to panic.
"(Residents) don't have to flee here," he said, adding that the region has sufficient supplies of basic foodstuffs to withstand a potential crisis, the BBC reports.
China is closely monitoring the development of tensions between India and Pakistan and has advised Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to areas near the conflict zone, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Indian military strikes on Pakistan targeted "terrorist camps" that served as recruitment centers, launch pads, indoctrination centers, and housed weapons and training facilities, the Indian military said.
"Intelligence and surveillance of terrorist cells based in Pakistan indicated that new attacks on India were in the pipeline, and it was necessary to take preemptive and protective strikes," said Vikram Misri, India's foreign secretary.
Air traffic in the area has been disrupted - airports have been closed, flights have been canceled (Indigo, SpiceJet, Air India, Qatar Airways).
Pakistan's Punjab has declared a state of emergency, the city of Muzaffarabad has been left without electricity, and schools in Jammu and Kashmir have been closed.
India said 10 people were killed and 48 injured in Pakistani attacks on Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Official Pakistan announced that 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the Indian attacks.
Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian planes. India has not confirmed this, but three planes were shot down in Indian Kashmir, and the pilots were hospitalized.
On May 7, India carried out Operation Sindoor, striking nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, which it designated as "terrorist infrastructure".
Pakistan said six sites were hit and 24 strikes were registered. It called India's action "an act of war."
The initial trigger was the deaths of 26 Hindu tourists on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blames Pakistan, which denies responsibility.
Bonus video:
