India, Pakistan Exchange Overnight Gunfire

Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged small arms and artillery fire overnight along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, the Indian army said Thursday, following the deadliest escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades.

The renewed gunfire came hours after India launched missile strikes into Pakistan on Wednesday, claiming to have destroyed nine “terrorist camps” in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir—a charge Pakistan strongly denies.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed in a late-night address to “avenge” the strikes, escalating fears of further conflict. Officials on both sides have reported at least 43 deaths—31 Pakistani civilians, according to Islamabad, and 12 Indian casualties from Pakistani shelling.

The Indian army described the overnight exchanges as “unprovoked fire” by Pakistani forces in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, and Akhnoor. “Our troops responded proportionately,” the army said.

Pakistan has not yet confirmed the latest skirmishes.

World leaders have urged calm. “I want to see them stop,” U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Iran has offered to mediate, with its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi scheduled to meet Indian officials in New Delhi on Thursday, following a recent visit to Islamabad.

Kashmir, claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, has sparked multiple wars since the two nations were carved out of British India in 1947. The region remains a powder keg of unresolved tensions.