Relations between India and Pakistan are cratering following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that has sparked tit-for-tat reprisals and raised fears of another military escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.

India and Pakistan have intensified their hostilities over the hotly contested Kashmir region following a massacre of 26 mostly Indian tourists, which New Delhi linked to Pakistan

An attack on tourists in India's Himalayan territory of Kashmir this week sparked a new crisis between nuclear armed South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan, with New Delhi blaming militants with "cross-border linkages" for the killings.