Pakistan defense minister says military incursion by India is imminent

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Indian Marine Commandos conduct live-fire lateral drills during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Haley Fourmet Gustavsen via DVIDS)

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's defence minister said on Monday that a military incursion by neighbouring India was imminent in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir last week, as tensions rise between the two nuclear-armed nations.

The militant attack killed 26 people and triggered outrage in Hindu-majority India, along with calls for action against Muslim-majority Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of backing militancy in Kashmir, a region both claim and have fought two wars over.

"We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken," Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters in an interview at his office in Islamabad.

Asif said India's rhetoric was ramping up and that Pakistan's military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack. He did not go into further details on his reasons for thinking an incursion was imminent.

After the Kashmir attack, India identified two suspected militants as Pakistani. Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation.

Asif said Pakistan was on high alert and that it would only use its arsenal of nuclear weapons if "there is a direct threat to our existence". 

 (Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Andrew Heavens)