Flames and smoke billows from residential buildings where militants are suspected to have taken refuge during a gun battle in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Feb 18, 2019. (DAR YASIN / AP)

SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has recalled its ambassador in New Delhi for consultations amid escalating tensions with nuclear-armed neighbor India, Pakistan's foreign office spokesman said on Monday. 

The move came as Indian security forces killed two suspected organizers of a deadly suicide bombing in the disputed region of Kashmir that has fuelled tension between the two neighbors.

We have called back our High Commissioner in India for consultations. He left New Delhi this morning. 

Mohammad Faisal, Spokesman, Foreign Office, Pakistan

The suicide bomb attack on a paramilitary police convoy last Thursday killed at least 40 men, the deadliest single attack on Indian forces in 30 years of insurgency in the Muslim-majority region.

The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. India accuses Pakistan for harboring the group. Pakistan denies that.

READ MORE: Modi warns Pakistan of strong response to Kashmir attack

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing an election that must be held by May, is under domestic pressure for decisive action against Pakistan. He has promised a strong response and says he has given the military a free hand to tackle cross-border militancy.

“We have called back our High Commissioner in India for consultations. He left New Delhi this morning," Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on Twitter Monday. 

The same day, police said in a statement that the two suspected masterminds of the bomb attack were killed in a clash with Indian security forces. 

Police identified both of them as Pakistani nationals and members of JeM.

Four Indian soldiers and a civilian were also killed during the fighting, police said. Security force sources told Reuters one of the dead militants had been identified as Abdul Rashid Gazi, who went by the alias Kamran Bhai.

ALSO READ: Retired Indian general urges caution against Pakistan strike

Indian troops had earlier cordoned off Pinglan village in Kashmir's Pulwama district, where the attack took place on Thursday.

An indefinite curfew has been imposed and police have asked people to stay indoors.

Mohammad Yunis, a journalist in Pulwama, said troops were searching the village and civilians trapped in houses were being evacuated.

In this Feb 17, 2019 photo, an Indian army soldier patrols during a curfew in Jammu following a deadly attack on paramilitary troops near Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir state. Pakistan’s foreign office has said its ambassador in New Delhi has been recalled for consultations amid escalating tensions with India. (RAKESH BAKSHI / AFP)

BOLLYWOOD BAN

On Sunday, police said Indian forces had detained 23 men suspected of links to the militants who carried out the Thursday bombing.

Kashmir is at the heart of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan. They both claim it in full but rule it in part.

India withdrew trade privileges offered to Pakistan after the bomb attack and has warned of further action.

The United States had told India it supported its right to defend itself against cross-border attacks, India said on Saturday.

The Thursday bomb attack has sparked outrage in India with calls for revenge circulating on social media, and rising animosity towards Kashmiri Muslims in other parts of the Hindu-majority country, to the alarm of rights groups.

“We are at a dangerous moment, and authorities must do everything they can to uphold the rule of law,” said Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty India.

“Ordinary Kashmiris across India who are only seeking to improve their lives should not be singled out for violence simply because of where they come from.”

The All India Cine Workers Association called for a "total ban" on Pakistanis working in India's film industry, though they have been largely blacklisted from Bollywood since a similar attack in Kashmir in 2016 in which 19 soldiers died.

The Confederation of All India Traders called for a nationwide strike to protest against the attack, and footage from Reuters partner ANI showed shuttered shops in several states on Monday.