Pakistan warns India against military action

PAKISTAN has warned it will retaliate if India takes military action against it after a militant attack on Indian forces in Indian- administered Kashmir.

Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television to call on India to provide evidence to support its claims that Pakistan was involved.

India responded that Mr Khan was again making excuses.

More than 40 members of India’s security forces died in Thursday’s suicide bombing on their convoy. Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-mohammad said it was behind it.

The attack has raised tensions between India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars and a limited conflict in the region and are both nuclear powers.

In his first comments addressing the attack, he said India should “stop blaming Pakistan without any proof or evidence” and urged Indian authorities to share any “actionable intel- ligence”.

“If you think that you will launch any kind of attack on Pakistan, Pakistan will not just think about retaliation, Pakistan will retaliate,” he said, adding that only dialogue could help solve issues in Kashmir.

India has long accused Pakistan of backing militant separatists in Indian- administered Kashmir.

Mr Khan, who took office last year, said his government was ready to co-operate with India in investigating the attack. But he also said Delhi should reflect on why Kashmiri youth had reached a point where they no longer feared death.

The prime minister said he had not addressed the attack earlier because of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s high-profile visit to Pakistan on Sunday and Monday.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said that Mr Khan had failed to neither condemn the “heinous act” nor offer condolences to victims’ families.