The defense minister of Pakistan stated on Monday that he anticipates an invasion by India to be forthcoming, attributing this prediction to the escalated tensions following a recent militant attack in India’s Kashmir region that resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, according to reports from Reuters.
Although India has refrained from identifying a specific group suspected of orchestrating the attack, it has asserted that it believes Pakistan supported the militants responsible for the assault. In response, India has reportedly launched an aggressive campaign to locate the perpetrators of the most lethal attack in the region in twenty years.
As detailed in a report by the BBC, Indian officials have resorted to using explosives to destroy properties allegedly linked to the suspects. Additionally, over 1,500 individuals have been arrested for interrogation, and there have been instances of cross-border skirmishes involving small arms fire between the military forces of India and Pakistan.
Indian security forces personnel escort an ambulance carrying the bodies of tourists who were killed in a suspected militant attack near Pahalgam, outside the police control room in Srinagar April 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Stringer)
The feud between India and Pakistan predates last week’s attack by nearly 80 years, following Britain’s decision to end its direct rule in the region following World War II and enact the 1947 Partition of British India, which essentially divided modern-day India and Pakistan based on Hindu and Muslim populations — though it caused massive unrest and displacement along religious lines.
The partition also gave the diverse Jammu and Kashmir region the ability to choose if it wanted to join either newly established nation.
Ultimately, the conflict ongoing today stems from the previous monarch of the region’s initial attempt to seek independence, followed by its decision to join India in exchange for security against invading Pakistani militias.
Indian security forces stand guard at the site of an attack on tourists in Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday, April 24. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
India and Pakistan have engaged in several wars and cross-border skirmishes in the decades since.
While President Donald Trump said last week that resolving the decades-old conflict was down to New Delhi and Islamabad to sort out, the State Department said it was working with both sides to encourage a “responsible solution.”
