Pakistan denies targeting Indian military bases _ BBC News(720P_60FPS)

Sajid Hussain

Transcript

00:00Pakistan has rejected allegations from India that it sent missiles and drones to attack three of its military stations.

00:07The Indian Army said it foiled attacks on its bases in Jammu and Udampur in Indian-administered Kashmir

00:12and in Pathankhot in India's Punjab state.

00:16Pakistan's defence minister said if his country had attacked, everyone would know it.

00:21Tensions have been escalating between the neighbours since a deadly attack which killed 26 people in Kashmir last month.

00:27Well, let's speak to our correspondent in Srinagar, Davina Gupta.

00:31So tell us the latest on what we think are these attacks or whether we can get any further information for sure about what these attacks were.

00:41But for now, we are relying on official sources from the Indian Army, which made it clear last night,

00:48as you mentioned, that Pakistan had fired missiles and drones at three of its military installations

00:54and it has been able to neutralise these attacks, a charge that Pakistan has denied.

01:01The Indian Army also said there's been no loss of life in these areas so far.

01:05But right now, I'm in Srinagar in the Indian-administered Kashmir,

01:08surrounded by green hills next to a local lake which has houseboats which are on a standstill.

01:14The shops are shut here.

01:16Just in front of me, there's also a yellow security van of the Indian Armed Forces.

01:21There are hardly any people on the road which conveys a sense of a heightened security concern.

01:28I can also tell you that it was a long, anxious night for locals here

01:32because a blackout was also enforced in this part of Indian-administered Kashmir

01:37and fears that there could be a further escalation of tensions spilling out here.

01:43But this morning, the electricity has been restored, but most of the schools and colleges are shut here.

01:49The civilian airspace also is closed down, so there are no flights coming in or out of this place

01:56and in several other cities in India in this region.

02:00So it is an anxious time for people out here in anticipation of what's going to happen next.

02:06And what efforts are being made to try to de-escalate?

02:08Well, one of the things that the Indian side is doing is also repeating its statement that

02:20what happened earlier this week when it targeted nine sides at the Pakistani side,

02:26it said it was in retaliation to the deadly attack which happened on its soil,

02:31for which it blamed Pakistan again.

02:33And it said that in that one, 26 tourists were killed,

02:37but that, it said, was the limited operation on quote-unquote terror infrastructure

02:41and it doesn't want to escalate tensions.

02:44At the same time, sending a strong message that it won't back down

02:47if Pakistan continues to provoke India in different ways,

02:51which, again, Islamabad continues to deny.

02:54Today we know that the Indian defence minister will be meeting several armed forces chiefs,

03:00so we'll have to wait and see what comes out of that meeting.

03:04So far, we are waiting also to hear if there will be a formal press briefing

03:08for journalists to know what comes next.

03:10And in the meantime, when you speak to people there,

03:12how concerned are they about the security situation?

03:15Well, I did go to some of those regions at the line of control,

03:22which is a de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

03:27And they're extremely concerned because just last night as well,

03:30there were reports of an intense artillery shelling in that zone.

03:34So when I went there yesterday, I could see that many locals

03:37were fleeing and evacuating those areas and going towards safety.

03:42One family that I met said that they just had to leave everything overnight.

03:48One person in their family couldn't even wear slippers when they were going out

03:51and had to walk for hours to reach and seek shelter among their relatives.

03:56They also told me that there was a lady in the group who had to grab her one-month-old child

04:00and leave that area immediately because they suddenly heard a loud bag outside their house.

04:06Now, these stories are often the same that we are hearing from that region.

04:12which seems to be witnessing the worst of escalated tensions between the two neighbours.

04:18Davina Gupta, thank you very much indeed for that update.

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