Pakistan on High Alert, Fears 'Imminent' Attack From India

Pakistan's defense minister said Monday that the country was on high alert and feared an "imminent" strike from neighboring India in the wake of last week's terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir that left 26 people dead.

The attack in the disputed region of Kashmir — which the nuclear-armed rivals have fought two wars over — provoked outrage among India's Hindu majority and led to calls for action against predominantly Muslim Pakistan. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism in the territory.

"We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now," Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters. "So in that situation some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken."

Asif reportedly did not elaborate on why he believed a strike was likely to happen and added that Pakistan would consider a nuclear response only if it perceives "a direct threat to our existence."

Vice President J.D. Vance, who was in India at the time on a previously scheduled diplomatic visit, condemned the Kashmir incursion and reaffirmed America's support for India in the aftermath.

Newsweek reported that India has identified two suspected terrorists as Pakistani nationals, but Islamabad has denied the accusation and called for an international investigation.

In one of the deadliest border clashes in recent years, Pakistani security forces killed 54 militants who were trying to enter the country from Afghanistan overnight on Sunday.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that the fighters were Pakistani Taliban and claimed that they had been sent by their "foreign masters" to carry out major attacks inside the country.

The incident reportedly took place along the Pakistani-Afghan border, near North Waziristan, which is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Following the attack last week, the Trump administration expressed support for India and denounced the terrorism.

"As President Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio have made clear, the United States stands with India [and] strongly condemns all acts of terrorism," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Thursday.

She added that the U.S. is "monitoring the situation closely."

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman told Newsweek that the militant attack on tourists was a "game changer."

"It shatters the relative calm prevailing in Kashmir in recent years, and in so doing it punctures the Indian narrative that normalcy — including stability — has been restored in a highly restive region," he said. "It's also the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which Indians regard as their 9/11."

He added, "Given the scale and targeting of this attack, it's all but assured that India will respond with muscle."