TENSIONS between India and Pakistan remained high today as both nuclear-armed nations exchanged drone strikes and accusations of military aggression, increasing fears of a larger conflict.

Pakistan’s military said that Indian drones had struck targets inside its territory, wounding four soldiers and killing one civilian.

The strikes, which included Israeli-made Harop drones, reportedly damaged a military site near Lahore and left debris in multiple areas, including the provinces of Rawalpindi and Sindh.

India confirmed that it had targeted Pakistani air defence systems and accused Islamabad of attempting its own attacks on Indian military sites using drones and missiles.

“Debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations,” India’s Defence Ministry said.

While both sides acknowledged launching or repelling attacks, many of the claims remain unverified.

The fresh wave of violence came just a day after Indian missiles hit several sites in Pakistan, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials.

India said those strikes were in retaliation for last month’s deadly attack by gunmen in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, in which 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed.

India has blamed Pakistan for that assault, but Islamabad firmly denies this.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to avenge the missile strike deaths, raising fears that the region may be on the brink of another full-scale war.

Amid growing hostilities, both sides have evacuated thousands of civilians from border areas.

Indian officials said tens of thousands of villagers in the frontier region had spent Wednesday night in shelters.

Around 2,000 civilians have fled their homes in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, according to reports.

“I am helplessly leaving my home for the safety of my children and wife,” said regional resident Mohammad Iftikhar as he boarded a vehicle with his family in heavy rain.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed that his country’s forces had killed between 40 and 50 Indian soldiers in exchanges of fire, a statement not confirmed by Indian authorities.

India’s army acknowledged the death of one soldier in shelling on Wednesday.

Mr Tarar denied Indian claims that Pakistan had fired missiles towards the Indian city of Amritsar, saying that the only drone that had fallen there was Indian.

Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Ministry reported 16 civilian deaths in recent exchanges of fire, while Pakistani officials put their civilian toll at six over the past day.