INDIAN police on Wednesday (July 16) accused the Pakistani army of killing a soldier and injuring seven other people during firing along their international border.
Police said the “unprovoked” firing lasted for several hours at an Indian post at R S Pura sector along the recognised border dividing the nuclear-armed rivals, police inspector general Rajesh Kumar told reporters.
“One BSF soldier died and four others were injured in the firing,” Kumar said.
“It was an unprovoked violation of the ceasefire,” Kumar said.
India's paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) patrols the internationally recognised border south of the disputed frontier in Kashmir.
Kumar said BSF officers came under fire as they tried to evacuate the guard who was originally shot by Pakistani troops, resulting in the four being injured.
Another three civilian porters working with the BSF were also hit in exchanges of firing between the two sides.
India and Pakistan often accuse each other of violating a 2003 ceasefire agreement between the rivals who have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
Firing along the disputed Line of Control (LoC) that separates Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani sectors has taken place sporadically since 2003.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is divided and administered separately by India and Pakistan but claimed by both in full.
About a dozen rebel groups who want Kashmir to be made independent or incorporated into Pakistan have been fighting Indian forces since 1989. The fighting has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.
