“We strongly urge both parties to de-escalate tensions and to quickly engage in a process of dialogue,” stated an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Paulo Rangel.
Indian and Pakistani armies have continued artillery exchanges along the contested Kashmir border following Indian strikes on Pakistani soil, a response to an attack last month.
The renewed tension between the two neighboring countries flared up on April 22 when armed men attacked the Pahalgam tourist region in Indian-administered Kashmir, resulting in the death of 26 civilians.
The attack was attributed to the Pakistan-based extremist movement Lashkar-e-Taiba, further worsening relations between the two nations, which have been rivals since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.
Islamabad denied any involvement in the attack.
Both governments instructed citizens of the neighboring state to leave their territories, and incidents along the borders have been reported throughout the days, with gunfire exchanged at the Line of Control in Kashmir.
On Tuesday night, New Delhi conducted strikes against three areas in Pakistan, which the Indian government labeled as “terrorist locations” in the province of Punjab.
Hours later, the Pakistani government announced it had shot down several Indian military aircraft, and, by this morning, a series of bombings carried out by Islamabad and New Delhi resulted in at least 38 fatalities, marking the largest confrontation in the past two decades.
