India-Pakistan Tensions Flare As Forces Exchange Fire in Kashmir

This week Indian and Pakistani forces opened small-arms fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Leepa valley; this was the first direct military engagement between the nuclear-armed neighbors in months.

The next day, Sunday, firing continued and extended to other sectors of the LoC. No injuries were reported during the first skirmish, with both sides claiming the other side initiated the fighting. The second skirmish is ongoing as of 2:00 AM local time, Sunday, the 27th of April 2025. Although tensions recently subsided, recent combating highlighted the tenuous state of relations of both states after a deadly attack earlier this month in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The clashes took place after an attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that killed 26 civilians. The Indian authorities made unsubstantiated accusations stating that Pakistan was responsible. New Delhi ramped up security to include the demolition of properties linked to people who are deemed militants. And while Pakistan rejected these claims, they said that they were simply a "baseless pretext" behind the anger.

India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of river water, and closed the Attari-Wagah border crossing- the only land route between the two countries. They downgraded diplomatic relations by expelling envoys and expressly stated that if India disrupts flows of the Indus River, they will consider it an "act of war."