Pakistan, India trade accusations in Kashmir border clash

May 23, 2010, 11:42 GMT

Islamabad/New Delhi - Pakistani and Indian forces clashed Sunday near the border in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, with both sides trading accusations about who started the fight.

Pakistan's army said one of its soldiers was killed in the clash across the Line of Control (LoC). The soldier 'embraced shahadat (martyrdom) due to unprovoked firing by Indians,' a statement from the army's public relations department said.

'Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with the Indians and demanded an immediate flag meeting,' it added. 'However intermittent firing is continuing at Battal sector.'

But the Indian military alleged that Pakistan started the clash and that the Pakistani troops also had fired rockets.

'Indian troops retaliated and a heavy exchange of gunfire was on,' Indian newswire IANS cited an army spokesperson as saying.

Both Pakistan and Indian control part of scenic Kashmir region, with the LoC dividing the territories held by them. But each side layss claim over the whole.

The two rival South Asian nations have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from Britain in 1947. They signed a Kashmir ceasefire in late 2003 which has generally held except for occasional exchanges of fire.

Pakistan has denied Indian accusations that it was supporting a separatist armed movement in pre-dominantly Muslim Kashmir, by sending trained fighters across the border.

India suspended a peace dialogue begun with Pakistan in 2004 to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, after the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed over 160 people.