Pakistan holds full-scale military drills amid tensions with India

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - The Pakistan Army conducted full-scale military exercises on Thursday, amid rising tensions with its eastern neighbor, India, according to state-run media.

The war exercises include a "practical demonstration of modern weaponry in view of war strategy, where officers and soldiers actively showcase their professional capabilities during the drills," Radio Pakistan reported, citing security sources.

"The primary objective of these war exercises is to deliver a strong and decisive response to any aggression from the enemy," said the state-owned radio station.

Security sources told the radio that the drills are taking place in Sialkot, Narowal, and Zafarwal areas of northeastern Punjab province, near the "working boundary" with India.

Tensions between the two nuclear neighbors rose following the April 22 attack by unidentified gunmen in India-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people.

The Pahalgam attack strained Pakistan's already tense relations with India over the disputed Himalayan region.

New Delhi claimed the attack had "cross-border links," which Islamabad denied, and demanded a joint investigation into the incident.

Since last Friday night, the armies of the two nuclear-armed countries have continued to exchange small arms fire across the disputed Kashmir border — the Line of Control.

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that the country will not be the first to resort to escalation, but that it will respond "very strongly" if India does.

Earlier, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke separately with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and urged both nations to ease tensions and prioritize regional stability following the Pahalgam attack.