India-Pakistan tensions continue to simmer across Kashmir border

Tensions between India and Pakistan continue to simmer a week after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian authorities announced the closure of numerous tourist sites in the region, which both countries have claimed since independence in 1947, on Tuesday, and Pakistan said it is preparing legal action over New Delhi’s punitive suspension of an important water treaty.

Meanwhile, fire was exchanged along the Line of Control (LoC), the 740km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir, for a fifth straight night. Pakistan said it had downed a drone, with fears of an escalation between the nuclear powers bubbling.

The government of Indian-administered Kashmir announced it had shut 48 out of 87 government-approved tourist destinations in the scenic Himalayan region.

No timeframe was given for the measure, as panic-stricken tourists sought an early exit.

Meanwhile, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to urge the two countries to de-escalate tensions.

Guterres “expressed his deep concern at rising tensions between India and Pakistan and underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

The UN secretary-general “offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation effort”, Dujarric added.

Meanwhile, the United States urged both countries to work towards a “responsible solution”.

“We are reaching out to both parties, and telling, of course, them to not escalate the situation,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters, quoting a statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The spokesperson added that Rubio would speak to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on Tuesday or Wednesday and encouraged other foreign ministers to do the same.

Tit-for-tat

India has accused Pakistan of funding and encouraging “cross-border terrorism” in Muslim-majority Kashmir following last week’s gun attack targeting mostly Hindu tourists, in which 26 people were killed.

Islamabad denies any role and has called for a neutral inquiry.

A series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures has followed, including the cancellation of visas and the recall of diplomats.

India has shut its border with Pakistan and banished Pakistani citizens. Pakistan has announced border and airspace closures and threatened to ditch the 1972 Simla Agreement that normalised relations to some extent between the two countries.

New Delhi also announced last week that it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement which feeds 80 percent of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture.

بھارت کی جانب سے عائد کیے گئے الزامات بے بنیاد اور محض منفی پروپیگنڈے کا حصہ ہیں۔ بھارت کو دوسروں پر الزام تراشی سے پہلے اپنے داخلی مسائل کی اصلاح پر توجہ دینی چاہیے۔ سندھ طاس معاہدہ کسی صورت یکطرفہ طور پر معطل نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔ پاکستان عالمی بینک اور مستقل ثالثی عدالت سمیت تمام… pic.twitter.com/bMBeUMSJcq

— Barrister Aqeel Malik (@BrAqeelMalik) April 28, 2025

In Islamabad, Aqeel Malik, minister of state for law and justice, said on Tuesday Pakistan was planning to take legal action “at all available legal forums, including the World Bank and the Permanent Court of Arbitration”, to contest India’s move.

He told the Reuters news agency that Pakistan could also take its case to the International Court of Justice against what he called the violation of the 1960 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties by India.

‘Imminent’ military incursion

Meanwhile, firing continued for a fifth consecutive night along the LoC.

The Indian army said it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistani army posts around midnight. It gave no further details and reported no casualties.

Pakistan has not confirmed the exchange of fire, but state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that the military had shot down an unmanned Indian “quadcopter”, calling it a violation of its airspace.

The time of the incident was not reported. India has yet to comment.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters on Monday that his country was prepared for an “imminent” military incursion by India.