Extract from ABC News
Residents of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir held a funeral for one of those killed in the air strikes. (Reuters: Stringer)
In short:
Pakistan's Prime Minister's office has said the armed forces of Pakistan have been authorised to undertake corresponding actions after the Indian air strikes.
India fired missiles into the region on Wednesday, killing at least 31 people and leaving at least 57 more injured.
What's next?
World leaders have called for restraint in the region, with Donald Trump hoping the conflict "ends very quickly."
The office of Pakistan's prime minister says armed forces have been authorised to undertake "corresponding actions" after India's air strikes in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
India fired missiles into the region on Wednesday, killing at least 31 people including a child, in what Pakistan's leader called an "act of war".
Pakistan's government security committee said India has "ignited an inferno in the region."
It added that the responsibility for ensuing consequences shall lie squarely with India.
The neighbours also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across the Line of Control, their de facto border in disputed Kashmir, with 13 civilians killed and 43 wounded on the Indian side and at least six killed on the Pakistani side, officials there said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed in a televised address that his country will avenge those killed by Indian strikes, but provided no further detail.
Mr Sharif said India acted out of arrogance, and he praised Pakistan's military efforts "against a numerically superior enemy."
The prime minister said he had attended the funeral of one person killed, a 7-year-old boy.
Countries around the world have called for calm, with the European Union saying it was trying to mediate the situation between the arch rivals.
Concerns about retaliatory action prompted India to warn residents living along the disputed border with Pakistan to move to safer areas on Wednesday.
Residents describe moments of fear
Residents of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, say they fled their homes and ran into surrounding hills as India launched air strikes in the city.
Mosque loudspeakers told people to seek shelter as the ground shook repeatedly and the sounds of explosions reverberated, they said.
"We came outside, then another blast happened," said Muhammad Shair Mir, 46, describing the events of the night.
"The whole house moved. Everyone got scared, we all evacuated, took our kids and went up (the hill)."
Mr Shair Mir said his family evacuated to the hills nearby. (Reuters)
Many people gathered after sunrise near a mosque that had been hit in the strikes, its roof smashed and minaret toppled.
Security forces had cordoned off the area.
The district commissioner, a senior local official, said three people were killed near the collapsed mosque.
In total, Pakistan's military said a further 46 people were wounded in Indian attacks across Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
"This incident happened at around 12:30 am," local resident Karamat Shah said.
"They (India) fired rockets at the mosque, that's all they did, spreading a little fear and panic among the people."
Resident Mr Shah said the air strikes have caused fear in the locals. (Reuters)
India launched the strikes early on Wednesday, saying it was targeting "terrorist camps" that served as recruitment centres, launch pads, and indoctrination centres, and housed weapons and training facilities.
New Delhi said it retaliated against Islamabad, which it blames for backing armed militants which killed 26 people in India-controlled Kashmir last month.
Pakistan denies any connection to the incident and called India's strikes it a "blatant act of war", saying none of the targeted areas were militant camps.
District officials said that at the Line of Control that divides Pakistani and Indian Kashmir, mortar and light arms fire between the two armies continued into the morning and had killed at least six civilians on the Pakistani side.
In Muzaffarbad, hospitals were operational and some small businesses opened in the morning but schools were closed and examinations cancelled, according to local authorities.
Locals have also held a funeral service for a man who was killed in an Indian strike in Muzaffarabad.
Resident Abdul Sammad said he heard several explosions as the blast ripped through houses and saw people running in panic and authorities immediately cut power to the area.
Shair Mir said he and his family spent four hours in the open.
"This is wrong … poor innocent people, our poor mothers are sick, our sisters are sick .. our houses were rattled, our walls have cracked,"he said.
Global leaders urge for 'restraint'
A number of countries, including Australia have called for restraint in the region after the air strikes.
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was "engaging with both India and Pakistan in response to recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir."
"We don't want to see escalatory actions, which pose a risk to regional peace and security," the spokesperson said.
"Australians in affected areas should monitor updated Smartraveller advice."
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the situation was very concerning.
She told reporters ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Warsaw that the EU was trying to mediate and bring down tensions.
Russia's foreign ministry said it was deeply concerned about the deepening military confrontation between India and Pakistan, and that it called for both countries to show restraint.
Russia, which has warm relations with both India and Pakistan, said it condemned all forms of terrorism in a statement published on the foreign ministry's website.
China is also closely monitoring the developments in the tensions between India and Pakistan, a spokesperson for its foreign ministry said.
Beijing has also advised Chinese citizens to avoid going to areas close to the conflict zone.
India says strikes on Pakistani targets aimed at 'dismantling terrorist infrastructure'.
US President Donald Trump said the rising tension between India and Pakistan was a shame.
"It's a shame, we just heard about it," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
"I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They've been fighting for a long time.
"I just hope it ends very quickly."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was monitoring the situation closely, while adding that Washington would continue to engage the Asian neighbours to reach a "peaceful resolution."
Experts at odds on Indian strikes
Pakistan's former ambassador to the United Nations said the country will not attack civilians in its response to India's strikes.
However, Dr Maleeha Loedhi told ABC's The World program that more action is needed to deter further violence.
"One thing Pakistan will not do which the Indians have done, is to target civilians," Dr Loedhi said.
Former Pakistan UN ambassador says "deterrence" needed against India | The World | ABC News
"The idea is not to inflict that kind of pain or punishment on the people. But to focus on military targets."
India denied that the attacks targeted civilians.
Indian opposition MP, Shashi Tharoor, told the ABC'S Manny Tsigas that New Delhi's response was "sensibly calibrated".
"We are responding to terrorism but are not interested in creating a protracted conflict," Mr Tharoor said.
Indian opposition MP praises strikes on Pakistan | The World | ABC News
Reuters/AP
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