India relocates 10,000 from around Kashmir as tensions rise

India relocates 10,000 from around Kashmir as tensions rise

By Mukhtar Ahmad, Sophia Saifi and Tiffany Ap, CNN

Updated 1955 GMT (0355 HKT) October 1, 2016

Clashes erupt between India and Pakistan_00002908

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Indian right-wing activists burn an effigy of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a protest against Pakistan, in New Delhi on September 19, 2016. India on September 19 weighed its response to a bloody raid on an army base in Kashmir which fuelled tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan, as some politicians called for military action after the worst attack of its kind in over a decade. New Delhi has said that Pakistan-based militants were behind the September 18 attack in which 17 soldiers were killed, raising the prospect of a military escalation in the already tense disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Clashes erupt between India and Pakistan
An Indian army soldier looks towards the site of a gunbattle between Indian army soldiers and rebels inside an army brigade headquarters near the border with Pakistan, known as the Line of Control (LoC), in Uri on September 18, 2016. Militants armed with guns and grenades killed 17 soldiers in a raid September 18 on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir, the worst such attack for more than a decade in the disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / TAUSEEF MUSTAFA (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)
Kashmir: A bitter dispute
An Indian army soldier takes up a position near the site of a gunbattle between Indian army soldiers and rebels inside an army brigade headquarters near the border with Pakistan, known as the Line of Control (LoC), in Uri on September 18, 2016. Militants armed with guns and grenades killed 17 soldiers in a raid September 18 on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir, the worst such attack for more than a decade in the disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / TAUSEEF MUSTAFA (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)
US, UN urge calm after new Kashmir flareup
Indian right-wing activists burn an effigy of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a protest against Pakistan, in New Delhi on September 19, 2016. India on September 19 weighed its response to a bloody raid on an army base in Kashmir which fuelled tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan, as some politicians called for military action after the worst attack of its kind in over a decade. New Delhi has said that Pakistan-based militants were behind the September 18 attack in which 17 soldiers were killed, raising the prospect of a military escalation in the already tense disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images)
Could India and Pakistan go to war?
india pakistan tensions pkg agrawal_00015301.jpg
India-Pakistan tensions at their highest in years
Army base attack leaves 17 Indian soldiers dead
Clashes erupt between India and Pakistan_00002908.jpg
Clashes erupt between India and Pakistan
An Indian army soldier looks towards the site of a gunbattle between Indian army soldiers and rebels inside an army brigade headquarters near the border with Pakistan, known as the Line of Control (LoC), in Uri on September 18, 2016. Militants armed with guns and grenades killed 17 soldiers in a raid September 18 on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir, the worst such attack for more than a decade in the disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / TAUSEEF MUSTAFA (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)
Kashmir: A bitter dispute
An Indian army soldier takes up a position near the site of a gunbattle between Indian army soldiers and rebels inside an army brigade headquarters near the border with Pakistan, known as the Line of Control (LoC), in Uri on September 18, 2016. Militants armed with guns and grenades killed 17 soldiers in a raid September 18 on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir, the worst such attack for more than a decade in the disputed Himalayan region. / AFP / TAUSEEF MUSTAFA (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)
US, UN urge calm after new Kashmir flareup
Story highlights

Pakistan and India exchange gunfire Saturday morning
Tensions escalate after Indian strikes earlier this week

"Are you in Kashmir? Have you been affected by the attacks? If it's safe to do so, WhatsApp us on +44 7435 939 154 to share your photos, experiences and video. Please tag #CNNiReport in your message."

Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN)India has relocated more than 10,000 people from around the disputed border area of Kashmir as tensions escalated this week with Pakistan.
The two nations exchanged gunfire Saturday morning, with each of the nuclear neighbors accusing the other of provocation.

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Simrandeep Singh, magistrate of Jammu District in India, accused Pakistani troops of firing across the Line of Control in two separate incidents. There were no fatalities, according to Singh.
The Line of Control divides the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
"We have set up 47 camps to accommodate those migrating from the border areas," Singh said.
Could India and Pakistan go to war?
Pointing fingers
The Pakistani military blamed India, saying its troops "responded to Indian unprovoked firing."
Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa denied Pakistani troops engaged in a strike across the Line of Control.
"There has never been a physical violation of LoC," he said. "They have violated the LoC with fire, and they opened fire on a span of around 250 kilometers at five places as they claim."
On Thursday, India conducted "surgical attacks" on what it is called terrorist bases across the disputed Line of Control. Pakistan has denied the presence of these bases on its side of the border. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in the attack.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has offered to mediate the matter.
Kashmir: A bitter dispute
Kashmir: A bitter dispute

Kashmir: A bitter dispute 01:35
The United Nations said it was "following this situation with great concern" and urged both sides to exercise restraint.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been disputed territory between India and Pakistan for 70 years.
Both of the nuclear-armed countries hold separate parts of it and have fought two wars, in 1947 and 1965, over their claims. They came close to a third, in 1999.
India and Pakistan's Kashmir dispute: What you need to know
'Credible information' of militants
Indian Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh told reporters Thursday the country's strikes had been based on "specific credible information" that militants were planning to carry out attacks in Indian cities, including Jammu.
"The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens in our country," he said.
However, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement, calling it "unprovoked and naked aggression" of Indian forces.
Sharif said Pakistan's forces were capable of defending their territory and would stop any "evil design" against their country. "No external force has the capability or capacity to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan," he said.
Tensions flare between nuclear neighbors
Tensions flare between nuclear neighbors

Tensions flare between nuclear neighbors 02:03
After an emergency meeting Friday, the Prime Minister's office said the Cabinet "joined the Prime Minister in completely rejecting the Indian claims of carrying out 'surgical strikes.' "
On Friday night, the leader's office said it would convene a meeting of the heads of parliamentary parties about the crisis Monday.
Bollywood films pulled
The renewed tensions unleashed a torrent of fury on social media and impassioned news coverage from both sides of the border.
On Thursday, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association asked that all Pakistani artists refrain from working on film projects in India.
Meanwhile, Bollywood films were being pulled in Pakistan. Nadeem Mandviwalla, owner of Mandviwalla Entertainment and shareholder in the largest cinema chain in Pakistan, said his theaters would temporarily pull all Indian films until there's "normalcy of relations between the two countries."
Nueplex Cinemas also joined the ban.

CNN's Mukhtar Ahmad reported from Srinagar, while Sophia Saifi reported from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Tiffany Ap wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Ravi Agrawal, Chieu Luu, Juliet Perry and Huizhong Wu contributed to this report.