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.

A day after the U.N. appealed for restraint following Tuesday's deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, India reported an exchange of fire across the de facto border in the disputed region.

Asif said India's rhetoric was intensifying and Pakistan's military had briefed the government on the possibility of an attack.