Pakistan vows to avenge Indian strikes amid calls for restraint

Pakistan has warned it will avenge those killed by Indian air strikes that New Delhi said were in response to an attack in India-controlled Kashmir, signaling an imminent escalation in the worst violence in decades between the neighbors.

At least 43 deaths have been reported so far, with Islamabad saying 31 civilians were killed by the Indian strikes and firing along the border, and New Delhi adding at least 12 dead from Pakistani shelling.

"We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs," Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in an address to the nation late on Wednesday.

Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said five Indian jets had been downed across the border.

An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named in an interview with AFP, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.

Both India and Pakistan have exchanged heavy artillery fire along the Line of Control dividing Kashmir.

India said that its actions "have been focused, measured and non-escalatory."

Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the strikes to "shore up" his domestic popularity, adding that Islamabad "won't take long to settle the score."

On Wednesday night, the Pakistani military spokesman said firing was "ongoing" at the Line of Control and that Islamabad would take retaliatory action against the air strikes.

Chaudhry reiterated Pakistan's "right to respond, in self-defense, at time, place and manner of its choosing," adding that the armed forces had been "authorized" to do so by the government.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam in the Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22.

Calls for restraint

Diplomats and world leaders have piled pressure on both countries to step back from the brink.

"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," the spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged both countries to exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation.

U.S. President Donald Trump called for a halt to the fighting, adding, "If I can do anything to help, I will be there."

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also said on Wednesday in a statement, "I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, no one wins."

"We need all sides to work urgently to see regional stability restored and ensure protection of civilians," Lammy added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei voiced grave concern over the recent escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. He reaffirmed Iran's principled stance on avoiding the use of force in international relations and respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry emphasized in a statement the importance of exerting all efforts to achieve calm and defusing the crisis, warning against further escalation.

Türkiye's Foreign Ministry warned that the "provocative" steps could create "a risk of an all-out war" and called on both parties to act with "common sense" and avoid "unilateral actions."

(With input from agencies)