Pakistan accuses India of arms build-up

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, has accused India of an “unprecedented arms build-up”. Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, he said his country would “take whatever measures are necessary to maintain credible deterrence”.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased in recent weeks with violent protests against Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region. On Sunday, militants killed 18 Indian soldiers at a base in the region.

India accused Pakistan of masterminding the deadliest attack on security forces in the region in two decades. Both countries claim all of Muslim-majority Kashmir in its entirety but only control parts of it. Sharif said Pakistan was “committed to the establishment of strategic stability in the region” and did not want an “arms race with India”.

He accused India of placing unacceptable conditions on any talks, reports the BBC.