Pakistan says it carried out air strikes in Kashmir

Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint.

In an escalation of hostilities a day after Indian Air Force Jets crossed the Line of Control and struck a terror training camp, Pakistan claimed "strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace".

There were reports of Pakistani fighter jets violating Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. A Pakistani F-16 aircraft crashed on its territory, in the Lam Valley area along the Line of Control.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left an event early and met with top officials including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Defence and Foreign Secretaries and intelligence officials.

Amid rising tension, India will avoid the Pakistani airspace, said, officials. Eight airports in north India, including Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jammu, Srinagar and Leh, were declared shut by the Airports Authority of India, but the order was withdrawn within hours.

Pakistan has stopped flights from Islamabad and Lahore.

The area near the Line of Control has been on high alert amid warnings of retaliation by Islamabad after India's fighter jets destroyed a terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, around 80 km from the Line of Control.

India said it was a "non-military and pre-emptive" strike based on credible inputs that Jaish was training suicide bombers for more attacks like Pulwama. Over 40 soldiers were killed on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber attacked a security convoy.

In a press release titled "Pakistani Strikes Back", Islamabad said on its strike claim: "This was not retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at the non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. The sole purpose is to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defence. We have no intention of escalation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with a clear warning and in broad daylight."

Amid the worst escalation between the two countries in decades, several countries have urged restraint.