By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – At least three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a fresh round of clashes with Indian forces on the disputed Kashmir border Monday, Pakistan’s army said.
Islamabad accused Indian border guards of resorting to “unprovoked” firing and shelling on the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that divides the disputed Himalayan valley between the two archrivals, injuring three soldiers who later succumbed to their injuries late Monday night, an army statement said.
Pakistani troops responded to the Indian gunfire “effectively” amid reports of an unknown number of Indian casualties in the exchange of fire, the statement added.
Hostilities between archrivals India and Pakistan have increased since India accused Pakistan of having links to gunmen who killed 19 soldiers in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir last September.
Pakistan has denied the charge while itself accusing India of repressing pro-independence protests that started in the disputed Himalayan region in July, since when more than 100 Kashmiri civilians were shot dead by Indian forces and thousands injured.
The brazen attack led to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that Indian forces carried out surgical strikes in the Pakistani part of Kashmir — better known as Azad (independent) Kashmir — killing several “militants”.
It also fueled the border clashes, which have already killed nearly 90 soldiers from both sides in recent months.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.
The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.
Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict so far, most of them by the Indian armed forces. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.
