Pakistan-India Tension: Following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan has been claiming that military action from India is imminent. The tensions have soared at the borders and various reports have claimed that Pakistan has already mobilized its army and air force towards the Indian border. Now, in a fresh sign indicating escalation of the situation, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has asked its residents of the border areas to stockpile food for at least two months. Amid fears of military escalation, authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir ordered the closure of over 1,000 religious schools for 10 days on Thursday.

At least 26 people lost their lives in the drastic Pahalgam terror attack that took place in Kashmir. 

The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire for eight consecutive nights along the militarised Line of Control, the de facto border that separates the contested Kashmir region. Prime Minister of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq said that instructions have been issued to stock food supplies for two months in the 13 constituencies along the Line of Control (LoC), said media reports.

The PoK government has also allocated an emergency fund of PKR 1 billion ($3.5 million) to ensure the uninterrupted supply of food, medicine, and other essential items to all 13 affected constituencies.

Notably, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has given complete operational freedom to security forces to respond to the terror attack. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control for the past week and the Indian Army has already issued a warning to them over the unprovoked firing incidents. 

The Indian Army has effectively responded to the Pakistan Army’s unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control (LoC) on the night of May 1-2 in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, and Poonch districts, as well as in the Naushera and Akhnoor sectors in Jammu and Kashmir (J-K), officials said.

According to the Indian Army, the troops responded in a calibrated and proportionate manner to the unprovoked small arms firing by the Pakistan Army. This is the eighth consecutive day of India’s effective retaliation since the Pakistan Army’s unprovoked small arms firing on the night of April 25-26.