Pakistan does not want to respond to India’s attack until its allies have tried diplomacy, a senior Pakistani government source told CNN, as the US, Saudi Arabia and others engage with both sides to try to de-escalate tensions.
“Pakistan is giving space for diplomacy,” the source said, denying that Pakistan had struck India. Earlier, Indian officials said Pakistan fired missiles and drones at military sites in India and Indian-administered Kashmir.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s military accused India of creating a “hype” about Pakistan attacking 15 locations in India and Indian-administered Kashmir. “It’s such a fantastic and cooked-up story. You can just laugh about it,” spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters.
“Pakistan has not fired missiles or sent drones in to India yet,” the source told CNN.
An Indian Army spokesperson told CNN earlier that explosions were heard in Jammu city, in Indian-administered Kashmir. Police in Pathankot, a city in India’s Punjab state, also received reports of explosions, according to a police source. Officials said air defenses were at work in both places.
The source said Pakistan had been urging the US to use its satellite analysis to verify or debunk India’s claims of attacks in Jammu, Pathenkot and missiles fired elsewhere.
Diplomacy efforts: World leaders, including the US, have urged the two sides to exercise restraint as tensions between the two escalate.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the Indian external affairs minister and Pakistani Prime Minister on Thursday. He expressed US support for “direct dialogue” between India and Pakistan and “encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” according to State readouts of the calls.
There has so far not been direct contact between Pakistan and India, the source said, adding “circuitous channels” are relaying information between them.
