Srinagar: Pakistan on Saturday placed its troops along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary (WB) on ‘high alert,’ following Thursday’s Pulwama attack in which 49 paramilitary CRPF soldiers were killed, Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan put its troops along the LoC and the WB on ‘high alert’ to deal with any ‘misadventure’ from across the border in the wake of Thursday’s deadly attack, ET while quoting officials said.

The attack — around 20 kilometres from the city of Srinagar on the main highway to Jammu — claimed by the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was the worst in Kashmir in three decades.

India was quick to blame Pakistan. The Pakistani high commissioner was summoned by the foreign secretary to issue a formal protest over the attack.

Islamabad, however, rejected the Indian allegations and insisted that it always condemned ‘heightened violence’ in the valley. India’s acting high commissioner was called to the Pakistan foreign office to convey Pakistan’s protest over Indian government’s attempts to link Islamabad with the Pulwama attack.

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A senior official told Express Tribune that Pakistan was closely assessing the situation and civil and military leadership began consultations to deal with any provocation from across the border. The official, who requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that Pakistan did not want any escalation in tensions but added that it would not take any chances either.

To review the situation, a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) is expected next week following the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But officials confirmed that that the troops deployed along the LoC and WB had been put on high alert to deal with any ‘misadventure’ from India. With Indian elections round the corner, there is fear in Pakistan that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may use the Pulwama attack to up the ante and ‘war hysteria’, the report said.

“We are very much aware of this and devising our strategy accordingly,” said a foreign office official.