Shah Marai—AFP
Another soldier wounded in late night clashes along disputed border.
Pakistan’s military accused India on Wednesday of killing an Army officer and seriously wounding a soldier in the latest clash across the disputed border in Kashmir.
Skirmishes have erupted across the heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, since five Indian soldiers were killed earlier this month in an ambush that Delhi has blamed on the Pakistan Army.
“Pakistan Army officer Capt. Sarfraz embraced shahadat (martyrdom) due to Indian troops’ unprovoked shelling at Shakma sector on Line of Control,” a Pakistani military statement said. Another soldier was seriously wounded in the firing, which began late Tuesday evening, the statement said, adding that Pakistani troops had returned fire.
Following confirmation of the shelling, Pakistan’s Foreign Office summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad and lodged a strong protest over the unprovoked firing. Pakistan conveyed its serious concern on the continued violations of the ceasefire across the LoC by the Indian Army over the past few weeks and the escalation of tensions, which is counterproductive and detrimental for stability and peace in the region. According to a statement, the Indian official was also informed that while Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement it calls upon India to take serious and credible measures to prevent further ceasefire violations and reduce tensions.
India’s Defense Minister A. K. Antony said Monday the army would take “all possible steps” to counter ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border.
Islamabad has denied its soldiers were involved in the ambush that triggered the latest round of clashes. The incident was one of the deadliest for Indian troops in Indian-administered Kashmir in years.
Kashmir has been the trigger for two of the three wars between the nations. The renewed tensions have jeopardized plans for what the two governments hoped might be a breakthrough encounter between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of a U.N. meeting in New York next month.