India accuses Pakistan of killing 2 soldiers in Kashmir

Monday, 02 November 2015 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 02 November 2015 7:08 PM ]

Indian soldiers patrol an area following an attack on the camp in Gingal Uri, some 90 kms north of Srinagar near the Line of Control (LoC), on December 5, 2014. (AFP photo)

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of killing at least two Indian soldiers along the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir.

An Indian army officer told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the soldiers were killed on Monday after Pakistani troops fired machine guns and grenades at Indian positions in the Gurez sector along the heavily militarized de facto border dividing the disputed region of Kashmir between the two neighbors.

The source did not mention whether Indian forces responded with their own barrage to the firing by Pakistan.

Senior officials in Islamabad have yet to comment on the latest incident of fighting in the volatile region.

Indian and Pakistani forces have been engaged in similar clashes in the disputed valley over the past few months. The two sides have accused each other of provocation and initiating the clashes.

A Pakistani Kashmiri, affected by cross border firing, shows the damaged wall hit by mortar shell at her home in Dhair Bazar, Madarpur sector on the Line of Control (LoC), some 150 kilometers from Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan administered Kashmir on August 8, 2015. (AFP photo)

On October 26, Pakistan summoned a senior Indian diplomat to protest against deaths of three civilians who were allegedly killed in shelling by Indian forces along the de facto border

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that J P Singh, the Indian deputy high commissioner, was summoned to receive Islamabad’s protest over the deadly incident and the unprovoked ceasefire violations by Indian forces during the nights of 23rd, 24th and 25th October.

Indian soldiers look on from their position by a road overlooking army barracks following an attack on the camp in Gingal Uri, some 90 kms north of Srinagar near the Line of Control (LoC), on December 5, 2014. (AFP photo)

Islamabad and New Delhi agreed on a ceasefire in 2003, and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.

Pakistan and India have been engaged in hostility over Kashmir ever since their independence from British colonial rule and their partition in 1947.

The two neighbors have fought two wars over the mountainous region as the two countries both lay claim to the entire territory. Pakistan controls one-third of Kashmir, with the remaining two-thirds being under India’s control.

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