Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply following Tuesday's attack by militants in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but New Delhi has accused Islamabad of being behind it.
The Indian military conducted naval exercises on Sunday and released images of warships firing missiles, while security forces continued to search for the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack. It also blamed Islamabad for "unprovoked" small arms fire from Pakistani army positions that targeted Indian troops in the Tomari Gali and Rampur sectors overnight Saturday/Sunday.
"Our forces responded with appropriate small arms fire," he added, without mentioning any casualties. The Indian military had reported similar incidents along the border on the previous two nights.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Indian police released composite sketches of three suspects, including two Pakistani nationals, accusing them of being members of the Pakistan-based jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The group is suspected of carrying out the attacks that killed 166 people in the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008. In addition, police have offered a reward of two million rupees (more than 20,000 euros) for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has handed over the investigation into the attack to the National Investigation Agency, which specializes in counter-terrorism. A statement from the agency said Sunday that "eyewitnesses are being meticulously interviewed to piece together the chain of events that led to one of the worst terrorist attacks in Kashmir."
For his part, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said, "Russia and China may participate in the international investigation into the terrorist attack that took place in the Pahalgam area of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir."
In statements to Russia's Sputnik news agency on Sunday, Asif explained that Pakistan does not intend to start an armed conflict as long as India does not escalate tensions, noting that his country will respond appropriately if it is attacked.
"If India tries to invade or attack Pakistan, our country will respond with great force," Asif added.
On Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on tourists in the Pahalgam district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people and wounding others.
Indian officials said the attackers "came from Pakistan," while Islamabad accused India of waging a disinformation campaign against it.
Following the attack, India decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which divides the waters of the Indian subcontinent, and ordered Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi to leave the country within a week. India also suspended visa issuance to Pakistani citizens and cancelled all previously issued visas.
For its part, Pakistan denied India's accusations, restricted the number of Indian diplomatic personnel in Islamabad, declared that it would consider any interference with rivers outside the Indus Waters Treaty an "act of war," suspended all trade with India, and closed its airspace.
A group called the Resistance Front, an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam.
On Saturday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif affirmed that his country is "open to participating in any impartial, transparent, and credible investigation" into the attack.