Four soldiers have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir in a gun battle with militants, police say.
The clash occurred in Pulwama district, where more than 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed in a suicide attack on Thursday, raising tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
A civilian and two alleged militants were also killed as Indian troops searched for suspects.
Meanwhile Pakistan recalled its ambassador for consultations.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is facing an election later this year, has vowed a strong response and says he will give the military free rein.
The last time an attack on Indian forces close to this magnitude occurred in Kashmir was in 2016, when 19 soldiers were killed at a base. In response to that, India carried out "surgical strikes" which involved Indian soldiers crossing the de facto border to hit Pakistani posts.
Modi initiates call to Imran/Imran responds by agreeing to talks immediately...comprehensive talks on all that is involved between India/Pakistan
get the Russians in to help stabilize the situation. the Rus now have a solid peace-making reputation that can help that situation.
its time for those 2 nations to resolve that Kashmir problem and all other problems they have..before they blow themselves to kingdom come.
the best solution by my way of thinking, is for both India/Pakistan to allow the Kasmiri to decide for themselves how they want their region to be organized and run - BY THEMSELVES..FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR NO OTHERS
and both India/Pakistan must agree agree to hands off, that those people have that right. and both India/Pakistan must agree to protect and guarantee what the Kasmiri decide for themselves..period
Quote:Pakistanโs Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for dialog with India to ease tensions that were triggered days after a bomb attack claimed the lives of over 40 paramilitary troops in the disputed region of Kashmir.
In a televised speech on Tuesday, Khan said Islamabad had nothing to do with the bombing.
He said the Indian government had leveled allegations against Pakistan "without any evidence."
"My message to India is: Firstly, you laid the blame on Pakistan, without any evidence, without thinking what Pakistan was going to gain from the attack."
"Why would Pakistan do such a thing at this stage, when it is moving towards stability after a 15-year war against terrorism, in which we lost 70,000 Pakistanis? Terrorism is going down, stability is returning. Peace is coming back. Why would we do such a thing? What do we gain from it?"
The Pakistani government, Khan said, was ready to cooperate with New Delhi in investigating the bombing.
"Today I make this offer to the Indian government. Whatever investigations you want to carry out in this connection, to find out if there was any Pakistani involvement in it, we are ready (to help). If you have any actionable intelligence of Pakistani involvement, give it to us. I guarantee that we will take action. Not because there is any pressure on us but because if anyone is using Pakistani soil for such activities, they are harming Pakistan. It is enmity with Pakistan. It is against our interest."
Khan also warned that Pakistan will retaliate if India takes military action. "If you think that you will launch any kind of attack on Pakistan, Pakistan will not just think about retaliation, Pakistan will retaliate."
A military convoy of Indian forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir came under attack on February 14. The assault was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group and was the worst in decades in the disputed valley, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but ruled partially by each.
I knew Imran would be ready for dialogue...that was certain
I am also confident that Pakistan is not responsible..not the Khan government
as Imran said there is nothing to to gain for Pakistan in such behavior
but there are powerful interests in the world who would like to see Pakistan and Indian blow each other to kingdom come. it is indeed in their interest for such an outcome to be effected
Modi in particular must make sure he is not used as a pawn in such an awful dead-end game for India/Pakistan
