Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the country “made a reply” to recent Indian missile strikes, claiming that Pakistani forces downed Indian jets — a statement not confirmed by Delhi.

“This was a reply from our side to them,” Mr Sharif said in a televised address, referring to the latest escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Islamabad says at least 31 people were killed and 57 injured in Indian air strikes on Pakistani territory and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as well as in cross-border firing along the Line of Control (LoC).

Meanwhile, India’s military said at least 15 civilians were killed on its side of the LoC in shelling by Pakistani forces.

India launched missile strikes overnight into Wednesday, saying they were in retaliation for a militant attack in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam last month that left several Indian nationals dead. Islamabad has denied any involvement in the incident.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir, claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but ruled in part by each, has been at the heart of a decades-long conflict marked by insurgency and frequent military flare-ups.

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