Christian leaders throughout the world are urging the global church to pray for peace as tensions between India and Pakistan inch closer to all-out war. The decades-old rivalry between the two nuclear-armed countries reignited in recent days following a deadly terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left more than two dozen civilians dead. India blamed Pakistan-based militants and launched a series of airstrikes within Pakistan on Wednesday, targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure. The strikes killed 26 people and injured 46 others, according to the Associated Press.

Pakistan labeled the attack an “act of war.”

“Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given,” said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Bishop Nadeem Kamran, head of the Anglican Church of Pakistan’s Diocese of Lahore, urged believers to pray and fast for peace.

“The church condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Kamran told Christian Daily International. “The scourge of terrorism has affected our region for decades, and it is in the best interest of the peoples of both countries that their governments sit together and evolve a joint strategy to counter this menace instead of resorting to war. War will only bring more destruction and bloodshed, which neither country can afford.”

Reuben Qamar, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, also urged the worldwide church to pray, saying disagreements over a water treaty threaten to escalate the situation.

“Pakistan and India should find a diplomatic solution to this crisis,” Qamar told Christian Daily International. “By announcing the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a six-decade-old UN-sponsored agreement, India has posed a serious threat to Pakistan’s water security. It’s a matter of life and death for millions of people in Pakistan! If India doesn’t reconsider its harsh stance, it could lead to very violent consequences, the ultimate sufferers of which will be the people of both countries.”

American theologian Albert Mohler Jr. said the differences between the two countries stem from different worldviews between Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The two sides separated in 1947 during the partition of British India.

“India and Pakistan are not just geographical neighbors,” he said on his podcast, The Briefing. “They are neighbors separated by a partition, and the partition was largely over the question of religion.”

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