India, Pakistan, Kashmir, violence, missile strikes, artillery, deaths, conflict, nuclear, border tensions, international relations, South Asia, military escalation, terrorism, diplomacy, China, Turkey

India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their disputed frontier on Wednesday after India launched missile strikes against Pakistan, marking the worst violence between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in two decades. The violence resulted in at least 38 fatalities, with Islamabad reporting that 26 civilians were killed by Indian missile strikes and border firing. New Delhi, in turn, reported at least 12 deaths from Pakistani shelling. The fighting erupted two weeks after India accused Pakistan of supporting an attack on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir.

The two nations have fought multiple wars since their separation in 1947 at the end of British rule. The current violence surpasses India's military strikes in 2019, which were a response to a suicide bombing of an Indian security force convoy that killed 40 people. At that time, India claimed to have struck "several militants."

The Indian army declared that "justice is served," claiming the destruction of nine "terrorist camps." New Delhi maintained that its military actions were "focused, measured, and non-escalatory." On the other hand, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the attacks to increase his domestic popularity but stated that Islamabad would retaliate. "The retaliation has already started," Asif told AFP, adding, "We won't take long to settle the score." Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry reported that five Indian jets were downed across the border, while an Indian security source, who requested anonymity, confirmed that three Indian fighter jets had crashed on Indian soil.

Amid the escalation, Turkey urged both India and Pakistan to act with caution, warning that the conflict could lead to an "all-out war." In a statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry emphasized support for Pakistan's call for an investigation into an Islamist militant attack in India that killed 26 people in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir on April 22.

China also expressed concern over India's military actions, urging both countries to show restraint. China's foreign ministry stated it "regrets" India's strikes and expressed concern about the developments. As a close ally of Pakistan and a neighbor to both India and Pakistan, China reiterated its stance against terrorism.

This escalating conflict highlights the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed nations with a long history of hostilities, particularly over the Kashmir region.