ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it shot down an Indian quadcopter that violated its airspace along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing the disputed region of Kashmir, amid growing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The incident comes a week after 26 tourists were killed in the Pahalgam area of Indian-administered Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attack, though the charge was denied by Islamabad.

New Delhi also suspended key provisions of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, with Indian media outlets urging the government to consider military strikes.

Islamabad has warned it would deliver a “befitting response” to any aggression, saying its forces are on high alert to thwart any action from across the border.

“The Pakistan Army thwarted an Indian quadcopter’s violation of airspace along the Line of Control (LoC),” Pakistan’s government said on its official social media account.

“In the Manawar sector of Bhimber area, the enemy attempted to conduct surveillance using a quadcopter, which the Pakistan Army shot down through timely and effective action,” it added.

Earlier, Pakistan’s state media, quoting security sources, reported the military had shot down an Indian quadcopter attempting reconnaissance along the LoC, calling the action a testament to Pakistan’s defensive preparedness.

Tensions have remained high since the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, with Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warning on Monday the next few days were “crucial” in view of a possible Indian military incursion.

“The threat is there, there is absolutely no doubt about it,” Asif told Geo TV.

“If any attempt was made to cross our geographical borders or if a war was imposed on us, then we are definitely prepared for that and will give a full response,” he added.

Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but ruled in parts by each, has been a flashpoint between the two countries since their independence in 1947.

The two sides have fought two of their three wars over the territory.

ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan are exchanging fire over their de-facto border since the Kashmir attack, but in New Delhi and Islamabad political foes are coming together and looking to score points.

On April 22, gunmen killed 26 people in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region that has long been a dangerous thorn in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

India accuses Pakistan of backing the perpetrators of the worst attack on civilians in years in Kashmir, an accusation rejected by Islamabad.

In addition to shooting over the Line of Control frontier in Kashmir, the two nations have exchanged diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.

But while the world holds its breath over a possible escalation, analysts said that domestically both sides could use the crisis to generate political gains.

“New Delhi could use it to bolster its image as strong and confident and tough on terror,” said political scientist Michael Kugelman.

“Islamabad could use it to try to rally support for a civilian and military leadership that isn’t terribly popular at home,” Kugelman told AFP.

Pakistani opposition parties have in recent times become more openly critical of the military, which has long been heavily involved in politics and the economy.

But now the fallout of the Kashmir attack has “entirely diverted attention with one common enemy,” Pakistani political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa told AFP.

“When there is a fear of war, people show greater support for the army,” she said.

When the Senate voted on an anti-India resolution last week, jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party voted in favor, ensuring it passed unanimously.

Siddiqa said the party had no other choice or it would have been deemed unpatriotic.

“It is not about being with this installed government or the army, it is about standing against the enemy,” PTI’s spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said.

Information Minister Ataullah Tarar echoed the message: “We don’t speak as party members, we speak as Pakistanis.”

Likewise in India, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, usually a harsh critic of Modi, made a statement saying that the opposition was united in condemning the attack.

“Whatever steps the government wishes to take, we will fully support them,” Gandhi said.

“The intent behind this attack is to divide society and pit brother against brother,” he added.

“At such a time, it is extremely essential that every Indian remains united and stands together — so that we can foil this conspiracy of the terrorists.”

The youth wing of the Congress party has held rallies, waving the Indian flag and offering their support to Modi.

“I pray to God for the peace of those who lost their lives in this attack,” said Ravi Kumar, a member of the Indian Youth Congress, during a rally on Friday.

He called for “strong and decisive action. The people of the country and the opposition are standing firmly with you.”

Even members of India’s Muslim minority — portrayed as a Pakistani “fifth column” by some in Modi’s Hindu nationalist party — have got behind the government and taken aim at Pakistan.

“Remember, if you go into another country and kill innocent people, no country will remain silent,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party (AIMIM).

On the Pakistani side, government officials and official media have presented the Kashmir attack as “fake and orchestrated by India.”

This message has been widely shared on social media in Pakistan, where disinformation is rife, has gone down well on the street.

“India is holding us responsible after having executed its own citizens,” said Matloob Inkalabi, a resident of Pakistani Kashmir.

In Islamabad, Waqas Sheikh, a 56-year-old trader, agreed.

“The attack was planned by the Indians, Pakistan has nothing to do with it,” he says, assuring that he “supports the army if India continues its provocations.”

Since the Kashmir attack, Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.

Modi is “under pressure to deliver,” said Praveen Donthi from International Crisis Group (ICG).

“The public is used to a certain hostile rhetoric when it comes to Pakistan, and they are now begging for blood, they are asking for a military retaliation,” Donthi said.