Prime Minister Narendra Modi has granted India’s military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), a senior Indian government source told AFP on Tuesday.
The move comes after India blamed Pakistan for the assault — without presenting any evidence — deepening tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Modi held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs on Tuesday, instructing the armed forces to independently decide the “mode, targets, and timing” of a response. The government later released video footage showing a stern Modi meeting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and military officials.
Meanwhile, cross-border gunfire continued along the Line of Control (LoC), with India accusing Pakistan of “unprovoked” small arms fire for the fifth consecutive night. Pakistan Army shot down two Indian drones violating its airspace, while India did not publicly respond at the time of the writing of this article.
As tensions soared, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held separate telephone calls with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s foreign minister to express “deep concern” over the situation.
During the call, PM Shehbaz reiterated Pakistan’s condemnation of terrorism in all its forms but rejected India’s accusations as “baseless.”
He stressed that Pakistan demands a transparent and neutral investigation into the Pahalgam attack and voiced alarm over India’s alleged attempts to delegitimise the Kashmiri freedom struggle.
The PM also criticised India’s weaponisation of water resources, calling it unacceptable, and emphasized that water is vital to 240 million Pakistanis.
He warned that Pakistan would defend its sovereignty “with full force” against any Indian misadventure, urging the UN chief to counsel India to “act responsibly and exercise restraint.”
Guterres appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace and warned that the world could not afford escalation between two nuclear-armed states at this critical time.
Relations between India and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians — the deadliest such assault in Kashmir in years.
Indian authorities have issued wanted posters for three suspects — two alleged Pakistanis and one Indian. Rewards of two million Indian rupees ($23,500) have been announced for each suspect, as Indian forces conduct sweeping arrests across the region.
The atmosphere has fueled fears of a repeat of the 2019 Pulwama crisis, where a deadly bombing in Kashmir triggered retaliatory air strikes by both countries. Modi’s strong rhetoric, including vows to “pursue terrorists to the ends of the Earth,” has amplified global concerns about the risk of open conflict.
Moreover, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry presented “irrefutable” evidence of Indian-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan.
During a press conference in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, he said that Indian army officers are orchestrating cross-border terrorism within Pakistan and supplying explosives to target civilians and security forces.
He further stated that India had failed to provide “a shred of evidence” to support its allegations against Pakistan regarding the recent Pahalgam attack. “Seven days have passed since the Pahalgam incident, and so far, India has not presented any evidence for its baseless allegations,” Chaudhry added.
He revealed that India was operating a terror network inside Pakistan, providing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), explosives, and funds to militants. “This irrefutable evidence is just one small part of India’s state-sponsored terrorism,” the DG ISPR said.
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