China on Saturday urged India and Pakistan to avoid an escalation in fighting, the Foreign Ministry said, as the conflict between its two nuclear-armed neighbours shows signs of getting more intense with tit-for-tat attacks.

"We strongly call on both India and Pakistan to give priority to peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, return to the track of political settlement through peaceful means and avoid taking actions that further escalate tensions," a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The call came as Pakistan launched counterattacks against India after three of its air bases were struck overnight.

The South Asian countries have exchanged fire since Wednesday, when India carried out air strikes on sites in Pakistani territory over a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of the divided Kashmir region.

The clashes – which have involved missiles, drones, and exchanges of fire along the de-facto border in Kashmir – are the worst in decades and have killed more than 50 civilians.

World leaders including the G7 group of industrialised nations have called for restraint, and the United States on Saturday offered help to get both sides talking as the violence intensified.

The Indian army on Saturday reported fresh Pakistani attacks along their shared border.

"Pakistan's blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border," the army said on X.

Journalists reported loud explosions in Srinagar, the capital of India-administered Kashmir.

The army said "multiple enemy drones were spotted flying over" a military cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab, a state adjoining Kashmir, and were "instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defence units." (AFP)