Pakistan’s army said it shot down an Indian spy drone along their disputed border in the Kashmir region, as tensions rise over last week’s militant attacks that killed 26 people.

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.

"If they stop water, all of this will turn into the Thar desert, the whole country," one farmer said. "We'll die of hunger."