Pakistan Army Denies Indian Army Strikes, Says Cross-Border Fire Killed 2

New Delhi: India carried out surgical strikes in territory occupied by Pakistan last night to eliminate terrorists waiting to attack Jammu and Kashmir and other metros, the army said today. However, Pakistan has denied the strikes and accused India of cross-border firing that killed two Pakistani soldiers. 

"We condemn this attack, our desire for peace should not be interpreted as our weakness," Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quoted as saying by Pakistani media.   

The Pakistani military's press wing, however, said, "This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross border fire as surgical strike is fabrication of truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, same will be strongly responded," it added.

Tension between India and Pakistan has escalated to its sharpest in nearly a decade since Pakistani terrorists attacked an army camp in Uri in Kashmir earlier this month. 18 soldiers were killed and Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged the attack would not go unpunished. India has moved to globally isolate Pakistan at the United Nations and other international bodies like SAARC.   

In recent hours, Pakistan had stepped up violations of the ceasefire struck in 2003 along the Line of Control (LoC).

Former military chiefs and experts have said India's surgical strikes were both needed and executed immaculately. "This could not continue unchallenged given what happened in Uri," G Parthasarthy, former envoy to Pakistan, adding the India's diplomatic offensive to isolate Pak "prepared the grounds" for last night's action.

India revealed the strikes after PM Modi chaired a meeting of the cabinet committee on security. He had pledged that this month's attack by Pakistani terrorists on an army base in Uri in Kashmir will be punished.