India Sends Jets to Disputed Territory in Kashmir, Alarming Pakistan

Indian military aircraft crossed the de facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir early Tuesday morning, a Pakistani military spokesman said.

A “payload” was dropped in the area from one Indian airplane, but no casualties or damage were reported, said the spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor. Jets from Pakistan confronted the Indian aircraft, he said.

“Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector,” General Ghafoor wrote on Twitter. “Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot.”

Tensions have escalated in the disputed Kashmir Valley region after a Feb. 14 attack by a suicide bomber who drove an explosive-filled vehicle into a convoy of Indian troops. At least 40 soldiers were killed, the deadliest attack in the region in decades. India blamed Pakistan for the assault.

In recent days, residents have fled as hundreds of Kashmiris have been arrested and Indian troops have moved more troops into the area. But analysts have said tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals are unlikely to erupt into full-scale war.

India controls much of Kashmir, while Pakistan controls a smaller section of the region, which was left in an undetermined state after the British partition of India in 1947. It has seen decades of violence from militants seeking independence.