New Delhi (CNN) India is waiting for the release of a pilot who has been in Pakistani custody since he was shot down over Kashmir on Wednesday, a goodwill gesture which could defuse the gravest crisis in the disputed border region in years.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the pilot, whose jet was downed during a dogfight between Pakistani and Indian warplanes, would be released Friday as a "gesture for peace."

Despite the planned release of the pilot, tensions in the region continued Thursday. Indian Army Major General Surinder Singh Bahal told a joint news conference of India's Army, Navy and Air Force in New Delhi on Thursday that India remains on "high alert."

Pakistan said four civilians were killed by Indian fire across the Line of Control, which separates Indian-controlled Kashmir from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. India's army accused Pakistan of initiating the exchange of fire on Thursday.

Khan's announcement came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "the entire country is ... standing with our soldiers" after several days of military exchanges between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

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