Meanwhile, fire was exchanged along the Line of Control (LoC), the 740km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir, for a fifth straight night. Pakistan said it had downed a drone, with fears of an escalation between the nuclear powers bubbling.

“Pakistan has successfully shot down an Indian quadcopter along the Line of Control, thwarting a violation of its airspace,” PTV reported, citing unnamed military sources. There was no reaction from New Delhi on the claim as of 1200GMT.

The Indian army also said that both sides exchanged fire for a fifth straight night along the Line of Control (LoC), a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.