Army Chief General MM Naravane said it was "unfortunate" Pakistan was continuing to "foment trouble" during the coronavirus crisis, which continues to hold the world in its grip. He said: "While we are busy not only helping our own citizens but the rest of the world too by sending medical teams and exporting medicine.

"On the other hand, Pakistan is only exporting terror. This doesn't augur well.

"It is very unfortunate that at a time when the whole world and India is fighting the pandemic, our neighbour continues to foment trouble for us."

As the coronavirus sweeps across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has responded by imposing a lockdown on the country's 1.3 billion people.

As of Friday, India had announced 437 deaths from the disease.

But, fears of nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan remains high as the two nations both continue to bolster their military forces.

India and Pakistan have not held talks over Kashmir since February of last year when the two sides almost became involved in a full-blown war.

Tensions over Kashmir and neighbouring Jammu are regarded as a major flashpoint between India and Pakistan and threatened to boil over when the killing of 44 Indian military police in an attack by a suicide bomber prompted a retaliatory air strike on what India said were terror training camps on the Pakistani side of the divide.

The Indian Army carried out precision strikes against terror launchpads in the Dudhniyal area of Kashmir in retaliation to a series of ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts by the Pakistani Army.

Aditya Raj Kaul, a journalist from Kashmir, reported trouble between "terrorists and security forces in Dachchan area of Kishtwar in UT of Jammu & Kashmir".

He tweeted: "Encounter rages between terrorists and security forces in Dachchan area of Kishtwar in UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

"Two terrorists who had earlier killed one J&K Police jawan and injured others have been cornered now after a difficult chase through jungles and mountains."

The Kashmir crisis was triggered after a terror attack by a suicide bomber on an Indian military convoy in the Indian-administered Kashmir town of Pulwama.

The attack killed more than 40 people, with India claiming that Pakistan was behind the strike.

In the ensuing military standoff, both nuclear-armed countries launched air raids on each other’s territory, resulting in an Indian fighter jet being shot down.

Tensions were diffused when Pakistan returned the pilot of the shot down jet to India, but frequent military skirmishes continue to plague the region.