SRINAGAR, India (AFP) -- An Indian soldier was injured Saturday when Pakistani troops fired at Indian army positions across the de facto border dividing Kashmir between the rivals, the Indian army said. The incident broke five months of relative calm along the heavily militarised border.
Pakistani troops fired 1,500-2,000 machine gun rounds towards Indian forward posts in the Western Uri sector, an army spokesman said. The firing lasted five hours, ending early Saturday morning, the spokesman said, adding that Pakistani fire was "unprovoked".
India in the past has accused the Pakistani army of providing covering fire for infiltrating militants. Last year India accused Pakistani soldiers of crossing the ceasefire line known as the Line of Control and killing an Indian soldier -- allegations Islamabad denied.
The firing comes at a time of heightened bilateral tensions, sparked by last November's Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai that India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). New Delhi has also accused "official agencies" of Pakistan -- a reference to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency and other bodies -- of involvement.
Both LeT and Pakistan have denied any role in the attacks which killed 165 people while Islamabad has blamed the assault on "non-state actors". |