Pakistan says intelligence suggests Indian military action likely soon

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, April 30 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Wednesday it has "credible intelligence" that India intends to launch military action soon, as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalate following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the U.S. to press India to "dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asked both nations to "de-escalate tensions," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

In the April 22 attack, the Islamist assailants segregated men, asked their names and targeted Hindus before shooting them at close range in the Pahalgam area, killing 26 people, officials and survivors said.

India has identified the three attackers, including two Pakistani nationals, as "terrorists" waging a violent revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation.

Hindu-majority India accuses Islamic Pakistan of funding and encouraging militancy in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory claimed by both nations but ruled in part by them. Islamabad says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to a Kashmiri demand for self-determination.

The old rivals, born out of the partition of British colonial India in 1947, have taken measures against each other since the attack, with India putting the critical Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines.

Pakistan's government said it had "credible intelligence" that India intends to carry out military action against it in the "next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident."

India's foreign and defence ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Sharif received a telephone call from Rubio on Wednesday, and the Pakistani prime minister asked Washington to urge India to "dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly," a statement from Sharif's office said.

Rubio pressed Pakistani officials to cooperate in investigating the attack, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement after the call.

In a separate phone call on Wednesday, the State Department spokesperson said that Rubio spoke with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, reaffirming "the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism."

The statement from Sharif's office said the prime minister expressed regret that India had chosen to "weaponize water", and stressed that the Indus Waters Treaty did not permit unilateral withdrawal from its commitments.

India shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines on Wednesday, New Delhi said, days after Pakistan banned Indian airlines from flying over its territory.

In a statement early on Wednesday, Islamabad said it condemned terrorism in all forms and will respond "assuredly and decisively" to any military action from India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue and punish the Pahalgam attackers.

WEEKLY BORDER TALKS HELD DESPITE TENSIONS

Despite the heightened tensions, India and Pakistan's top military generals held their normal weekly phone call on Tuesday, two Indian military sources and a Pakistani official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

"The Indian side objected strongly to unprovoked firing happening from Pakistan," one Indian source said.

A Pakistani official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the talks had happened, but gave no details. The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment.

Indian and Pakistani troops have exchanged small-arms fire over the past six nights, which New Delhi says was initiated by the Pakistani side across their 460-mile (740-km) de facto border running through Kashmir. No casualties were reported.

India and Pakistan last reaffirmed their ceasefire understanding in 2021 and their military commanders have held weekly talks over the phone every Tuesday to review conditions along the de facto boundary, the Indian army has said.

India's cabinet committee on security (CCS), consisting of Modi and his interior, defence, foreign, home and finance ministers, also met on Wednesday, local media reported, its second session since the April 22 attack.

Modi told his military chiefs earlier this week that they have the freedom to decide the country's response to the Pahalgam attack, a government source said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in separate phone calls with India and Pakistan, stressed the need to "avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences."

Britain has called for calm between its Indian and Pakistani communities, and advised against all travel to Jammu and Kashmir - India's official name for the territory - with few exceptions.