India, April 30 -- Pakistan will not resort to any escalatory action but will respond "very strongly" to any escalatory move by India, Pakistan's deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, reiterating Islamabad's call for an independent investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack that has led to heightened tensions between the two sides.

Dar, who is also the foreign minister, reiterated his government's contention that Pakistan had no connection to the terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people, and pushed back against punitive measures taken by India, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, by saying any stopping of the flow of river waters will be seen as an "attack on the people of Pakistan and its economy"...