Over 50 Pakistanis killed in clash with India

Pakistan's military said in a statement yesterday that 51 people were killed by Indian strikes last week, with the victims comprising 40 civilians and 11 armed forces members.

Pakistan's previous official death toll had been 33 civilians with no military losses.

Last week, India launched strikes targeting "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to an attack on Hindu tourists in April in India-administered Kashmir that killed 26.

The nuclear-armed arch-rivals then launched days of tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes into each other's territories before a US-brokered ceasefire was worked out over the weekend. India said at least five military personnel and 16 civilians died in the clashes.

Despite claims from both sides on early violations, the ceasefire still appeared to be largely holding on Tuesday.

Senior military officials from India and Pakistan spoke via a hotline on Monday to assess if the ceasefire was holding and how to ensure implementation, the Associated Press reported.

The Indian army in a statement said the officials discussed the commitment of not "firing a single shot" or initiating aggressive action.

In his first public response since the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,  said that India had only "paused" its military action, and warned of retaliation if there were any further terror attacks on India.

"If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure," Modi said Monday.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday the country "remains committed" to the ceasefire.

The April attack was claimed by a group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance, which India says is also known as The Resistance Front and is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist organization.

New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the attack, an allegation Pakistan denies. — DW