Pakistan has promised retaliation after India imposed a military strike on Pakistan and Pakistan-managed Kashmir, which has heightened concerns about a wider confrontation between nuclear-weapon neighbours.

Pakistan's government pledged on Wednesday to "a response to the loss of life in innocent Pakistan and a blatant violation of its sovereignty" at one time.

Pakistan's military said at least 31 civilians were killed, 46 injured in the Indian attack and subsequently bombarded across borders, describing the strike "lit up the hell in the area."

In New Delhi, Indian officials informed them of more than a dozen foreign envoys: "If Pakistan responds, India will respond."

The fatal attack on Indian tourists who manage Kashmir last month was carried out due to spiral tensions that India blamed Pakistan’s fighter jets. Islamabad denies any involvement.

Cross-border bombardment

The Indian government said its troops targeted nine locations, calling them "terrorist infrastructure", including facilities allegedly associated with combatants who killed 25 tourists and a local in the Kashmir attack last month.

But in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Kashmir managed by Pakistan, residents said Indian missiles attacked a mosque in the city center.

The building includes residential areas, which remained in the ruins, and five missiles reportedly killed three people in the two-story building.

Meanwhile, heavy cross-border shelling and gunfire continued along the Line of Control (LOC), and the de facto border divides Kashmir. Officials said 13 civilians were killed on the Indian side and 43 were injured, while at least six civilians were killed on the Pakistan side.

The Pakistani Prime Minister's office claimed that during the upgrade, five Indian fighters and drones were shot down. The Indian Embassy in Beijing dismissed the report of the shot down plane as "false information."

Sharif promises to respond

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar told TRT World that communication has been conducted between the two countries’ national security advisers, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised Pakistan will respond decisively.

"For India's blatant mistakes made last night, it's a price to pay now," Sharif said on state broadcaster PTV. "Maybe they think we'll retreat, but they forget... it's a brave nation."

Al Jazeera's Islamabad report said Pakistan's retaliation is widely expected.

"Pakistan is expected to retaliate over the next 24 to 48 hours, and this is what we have heard from politicians in full," he said.

"They are citing article 51 of the UN Charter, which says that a country has the right to deal with unwarranted acts of aggression."

India defended its actions, with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh claiming that “the goal we set is to be destroyed according to a planned intact strategy”.

He added: “We show sensitivity by ensuring that no civilians are affected.”

Islamabad claims that the six locations targeted by India have nothing to do with armed groups.

"I want to see it stop"

Pakistan's military said 57 commercial aircraft from multiple countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Thailand, South Korea and China, put thousands of passengers in danger in Pakistan's airspace when India attacked.

Since then, India has ordered at least 21 civilian airports to close in the north and west of the country until May 10.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Prime Minister Sharif and expressed support. According to the Turkish president, Erdogan praised Pakistan's "calm and restraint policy" during the crisis.

In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said he hopes to help reduce the situation. "I want to see it stop. If I can do any help, I'll be there," he told reporters at the White House. "We want to see them fix the problem."

Uday Chandra, assistant government professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, said that while Pakistan’s revenge is expected to be seeking Pakistan’s revenge, no country seems to be seeking a “total war.”