OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: India said on Monday it had responded to ‘unprovoked’ small arms firing from Pakistan along the Line of Control (LOC) for the fourth consecutive night, as it deepens its search for militants in the region following last week’s deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir.

The nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India putting the critical Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines.

China on Monday urged India and Pakistan to “exercise restraint” after New Delhi’s army said soldiers from the two countries exchanged gunfire in disputed Kashmir for a fourth night in a row.

“China hopes that the two sides will exercise restraint, meet each other halfway, properly handle relevant differences through dialogue and consultation and jointly maintain regional peace and stability,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. The Indian Army said it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistan Army posts around midnight on Sunday along the 740-km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani areas of Kashmir. It gave no further details and reported no casualties.

The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment.

PEOPLE DETAINED

India’s defence forces have conducted several military exercises across the country since the attack. Some of these are routine preparedness drills, a defence official said.

Security forces have detained around 500 people for questioning after they searched nearly 1,000 houses and forests hunting for militants in Indian Kashmir, a local police official told Reuters on Monday.

At least nine houses have been demolished so far, the official added.

Political leaders in the state have called for caution to ensure the innocent are not harmed in the government’s actions against terrorism after the deadliest incident of its kind in India in nearly two decades.

“This is the first time in 26 years that I have seen people coming out in this way...to say we are not with this attack,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the legislature.

“It (militancy) will finish when people are with us, and today it seems like people are getting there,” he said.

Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, said in a post on X that it “unequivocally” denied involvement in last week’s attack, after an initial message that claimed responsibility.

Villagers living near the border in AJK said the exchange of fire between the two militaries did not worry them.

“We have grown up in a war-like situation, so fear does not exist in our lexicon,” said Shaukat Awan, a social activist from Lanjot near the border.

At Keran, a village that is on the border, tourists coming from elsewhere in Pakistan continued to flock to its riverside.

“We have brought a message of love here. People of Kashmir are cheerful and loving. Despite tensions, there is no fear,” said Raza Naqvi, a tourist from Sindh province.—Reuters