UN urges ‘maximum restraint’ to arch-rivals India and Pakistan

Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire in disputed Kashmir for a third night in a row, officials said on Sunday, as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals plunged to their lowest level in years.

India has accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen killed 26 people in the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.

Islamabad has denied any involvement, calling attempts to link Pakistan to the attack “frivolous” and vowing to respond to any Indian action.

The Indian military on Sunday held naval drills – releasing images of warships firing missiles – while the country’s security forces pressed on with their hunt for those behind the April 22 attack at a tourist hotspot in Pahalgam.

The military blamed Pakistan for the “unprovoked” firing of small arms along Kashmir’s Line of Control that separates the two countries.

“[Our] own troops responded effectively with appropriate small arms fire,” it said of the latest incident, which has not been reported by Pakistan.