Pakistan decries India's 'act of war' and vows retaliation

Islamabad says it shot down five fighter jets after New Delhi ignited an inferno’ by launching missile attacks that killed 31

- MOHAMMAD DAWOOD , SHWETA SHARMA , ALASTAIR JAMIESONIN

Pakistan accused India of "igniting an inferno" over Kashmir and vowed to retaliate after missile attacks by the Indian air force killed 31 people - including women and children - and raised fears of an escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.

Islamabad called the nine strikes, on Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab, an "act of war" and said it had shot down several Indian aircraft.

India said it had targeted "terror camps" inside Pakistan in response to the 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam that left 26 dead, all but one of them Hindu tourists.

It was the first attack on Pakistan's most populous province since the two countries fought a war more than half a century ago. Kashmir has been split between the countries since 1949 and is claimed by both in its entirety.

Sir Keir Starmer said the situation was "of serious concern to many across Britain" and urged calm. "We are engaging urgently with both countries as well as other international partners, encouraging dialogue, de-escalation and the protection of civilians," he told MPs in the Commons.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for the region, warning against all travel within seven miles of the border and 10 miles of the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir.

New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of fuelling separatism and militancy in Kashmir, the restive Himalayan region claimed in full by both countries but held only in part. Indian officials have said two of the gunmen who allegedly launched that attack were Pakistanis, but did not provide any evidence.

Pakistan has denied any role in the massacre and called for an international investigation.