News - World: Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan on Friday as the nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged gunfire along the border and traded accusations, raising concerns of a broader military confrontation.

Deadly tensions between the two countries increased further on Friday as New Delhi said it had overnight repelled fresh drone and artillery attacks from Islamabad.

Pakistan denied it had launched the attacks but said it would not "de-escalate" and blamed India for moving the two countries "closer to a major conflict".

In tit-for-tat exchanges, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said that India's "reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict".

He slammed New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, after the recent clashes, as illegal and unilateral.

The spokesman urged the international community to step in, warning that India’s actions are pushing South Asia toward crisis.

Separately, Pakistan's military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry blamed India for the rise of tensions.

"We will not de-escalate, with the damages they did on our side they should take a hit," Chaudhry was quoted as saying

"So far we have been protecting ourselves but they will get an answer in our own timing."

Meanwhile, the Indian military provided an update on recent hostilities, accusing Pakistan of using hundreds of Turkish-made drones in an overnight attack on May 8.

The Indian army also said it had "repulsed" waves of Pakistani attacks overnight, and gave a "befitting reply".

The Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has slammed Pakistan for denying the strikes as "farcical", condemning what he called a campaign of disinformation by Islamabad.

In the latest round of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, more than four dozen people have lost their lives from three days of missile, artillery and drone attacks since Wednesday.

Residents across Pakistan and India rushed to stockpile food and other essential supplies.

In the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, which lies near the border, residents were shaken on Thursday by drones that Pakistan said were launched by India and were shot down in the city.

Across the border, India's Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution minister warned against panic buying of food grains.

"We currently have stocks many times higher than the normal requirement—whether it is rice, wheat, or pulses...There is absolutely no shortage," he said.

Pankaj Seth, a resident of Amritsar in India's Punjab state, said people felt they had no choice: "We do not know if the markets will open tomorrow or not...I have children and grandchildren at home so I have to stock up."

Some residents of border regions were also requesting relatives to bring them supplies as prices rose.

Residents of Kashmir near the line of control that divides the region faced a more stark and immediate threat.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir's Uri district, residents said many fled overnight after several houses were struck by shelling, some taking shelter behind rocks or in bunkers.

Schools were closed on both sides of the Pakistan and Indian border in Kashmir and Punjab, affecting tens of millions of children.

India has also closed 24 airports, but according to local media, the suspension on civilian flights may be lifted on Saturday morning.

The conflict has caused major disruption to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that don't overfly the Indian-Pakistan frontier.

The conflict erupted after India struck multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday that it said were "terrorist camps", in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month.

It is the most serious confrontation in decades between the two countries, which have fought several wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir -- which is divided between the two neighbors.

Source: Press TV