The neighbors have been in conflict over the disputed border region since their independence and partition in 1947.

India launched air strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday A top official in Poonch district in Indian-administered Kashmir has told the BBC that at least seven people have been killed and around 32 others have been injured in cross-border shelling in Poonch district.

New Delhi controls around 172 nuclear weapons, according to the Arms Control Association. Pakistan has approximately 170 nuclear warheads. India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed nations, saw a decades-old conflict reignite May 7 as a terror attack in the disputed region of Kashmir led India to carry out cross-border airstrikes.