Tensions between India and Pakistan continue to simmer a week after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Indian authorities announced the closure of numerous tourist sites in the region, which both countries have claimed since independence in 1947, on Tuesday, and Pakistan said it is preparing legal action over New Delhi’s punitive suspension of an important water treaty.
Meanwhile, fire was exchanged along the Line of Control (LoC), the 740km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir, for a fifth straight night. Pakistan said it had downed a drone, with fears of an escalation between the nuclear powers bubbling.
The government of Indian-administered Kashmir announced it had shut 48 out of 87 government-approved tourist destinations in the scenic Himalayan region.
No timeframe was given for the measure, as panic-stricken tourists sought an early exit.
India has accused Pakistan of funding and encouraging “cross-border terrorism” in Muslim-majority Kashmir following last week’s gun attack targeting mostly Hindu tourists, in which 26 people were killed.
Islamabad denies any role and has called for a neutral inquiry.
A series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures has followed, including the cancellation of visas and the recall of diplomats.
India has shut its border with Pakistan and banished Pakistani citizens. Pakistan has announced border and airspace closures and threatened to ditch the 1972 Simla Agreement that normalised relations to some extent between the two countries.
Credit: aljazeera.com
