Pakistan’s military said Tuesday that two soldiers were killed by Indian fire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
In a statement, the military blamed India for violating a cease-fire in the village of Bagsar along the borderline that separates Kashmir between Pakistan and India. It said Pakistan returned fire and claimed there were troop casualties on the Indian side.
There was no immediate comment from Indian officials but both sides routinely accuse each other of unprovoked attacks in violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement along the highly militarized Line of Control.
Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and both claim it in its entirety.
Pakistan violates ceasefire in 2 sectors
Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling on forward posts and villages in two sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Kathua districts, officials said on Sunday.
Indian forces retaliated befittingly to silence the Pakistani guns, the officials said, adding that there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side.
“At about 5.45 pm (Sunday), Pakistan (Army) initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling mortars along the LoC in Degwar sector of Poonch,” a defence spokesman said.
He said the Indian army retaliated befittingly and the cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when last reports were received.
Pakistani Rangers also opened fire on forward posts and villages along the IB in Kathua district of Jammu region, the officials said.
They said the firing from across the border in the Pansar border outpost area in Hiranagar sector started around 10 pm on Saturday, drawing strong and effective retaliation from the Border Security Force (BSF).
The cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 3.45 am on Sunday, forcing border residents to spend the night in underground bunkers, the officials said.