00:00Pakistan's Prime Minister has accused India of igniting an inferno with the missiles it launched at his country overnight.
00:08Shabazz Sharif said India had made a grave mistake for which it will now have to pay the price.
00:13At least 31 people were killed in the overnight attacks.
00:16India says it was targeting what it calls terrorist infrastructure in nine different locations.
00:23The Indian strikes were followed by heavy Pakistani shelling across the line of control,
00:28which India says killed between 10 and 15 people.
00:33The smouldering remains of a home.
00:37Shell casings from last night's gunfire mixed with broken bits of people's lives.
00:44Villages like Salamabad, along the line of control in Indian-administered Kashmir,
00:50pounded overnight into the morning.
00:53As India and Pakistan exchanged artillery fire.
00:58reporting dozens of casualties on both sides.
01:03Many of the injured residents from Salamabad were brought to this nearby hospital.
01:09One of the burned-down homes we saw earlier belonged to Badr Din Naik and his family.
01:14One of the burned-down homes we saw in the middle of our home.
01:15We saw two shells in the middle of our home.
01:17Two shells in the middle of our home.
01:18Me and my children had barely enough time to run
01:21after two Pakistani shells landed in the middle of our home.
01:26You have seen our loss.
01:27We have nothing left.
01:28India under pressure domestically to respond to last month's attack when gunmen opened fire
01:38on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
01:4026 people died, the deadliest attack on civilians in recent years.
01:47India blaming militants operating in Pakistan, an allegation Pakistan denies.
01:52India exercised its right to respond and preempt, as well as deter more such cross-border attacks.
02:00These actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.
02:07And this was the response.
02:11India says it targeted and destroyed nine militant training camps
02:15operating in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and beyond.
02:22Pakistan says dozens of civilians were killed in those attacks.
02:26Calling the military action an act of war, it is vowing retaliation.
02:32Pakistan reserves the right and will respond to this aggression
02:38at a time, place and means of our own choice.
02:45As border towns and villages like Salamabad lay abandoned,
02:50people in the region are left hoping that this brings recent tensions to an end.
02:56And not merely the beginning of a longer and more protracted conflict.
03:01Samir Hussain, BBC News, New Delhi.
03:04The Prime Minister, Sakhir Starmer, said the rising tensions over Kashmir
03:08will be of serious concern to all communities in Britain.
03:12Like others, he is encouraging dialogue and de-escalation.
03:16Our diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, is with me.
03:18Donald Trump has also weighed in tonight.
03:20There's always a risk, James, in these circumstances that a response leads to an escalation
03:26neither side can stop.
03:27Yeah, and that's the question everybody's asking tonight is how does Pakistan respond
03:30and what response does it provoke from the Indians?
03:34The question, of course, is whether they can control what's called this escalatory ladder.
03:39Both sides seem to think they can.
03:41They both seem to be saying, well, we're being measured, we're being non-escalatory.
03:44The risk, though, is one that the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and others have pointed out today,
03:48which is one of miscalculation.
03:50Because if that happens, there is a risk this spirals out of control
03:53and then you end up with a regional conflict, maybe a proxy conflict with allies piling in
03:57on both sides or even worse.
03:59Remember, we are talking about two countries that possess nuclear weapons
04:02at odds over one of those militarised regions in the world.
04:06And there are two other factors making this harder.
04:08One is you've got two wars already in the Middle East and Ukraine that is distracting
04:13the international community.
04:14Most leaders today have been saying, well, you know, they're playing for restraint and
04:18not much more.
04:19And secondly, you've got the United States seemingly unwilling to engage diplomatically.
04:23Normally, they've played a mediating, restraining role in this conflict.
04:27As you said, President Trump tonight said merely, and I quote,
04:31if there's anything I can do to help, I'll be there.
04:34It's not exactly proactive diplomacy.
04:36So you've got a distracted international community.
04:38You've got a lack of U.S. leadership.
04:39You've got rising nationalist rhetoric from both sides.
04:42So it's clearly a very, very serious situation and the stakes are high.
04:47James Lander, thank you.
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