Pakistan: Indian fire kills 1, wounds 3 in Pakistan Kashmir
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 2 months AGO
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s military said Friday that Indian troops fired rockets and mortar shells, killing one Pakistani civilian and wounding three others in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
In a statement, the military called it the latest unprovoked incident of cease-fire violations by India and said Pakistani troops responded by targeting the Indian posts.
Authorities said the exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian forces in Kashmir started Thursday and continued overnight.
There was no immediate comment from the Indian military. India often accuses Pakistan of initiating the clashes in Kashmir, which is split between both countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
The latest development comes a day after Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat to lodge a protest over this week's alleged Indian violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement. Two civilians were wounded on the Pakistani side of the border in that exchange of fire.
Pakistan and India and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
Tensions between the two countries soared in February 2019, when Pakistan shot down an Indian warplane in Kashmir and captured a pilot in response to an airstrike by Indian aircraft targeting militants inside Pakistan. India said the strikes targeted Pakistan-based militants responsible for a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian troops in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.