Pakistan, India exchange fire at LoC

WEB DESK: Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire overnight across the line of control (LoC) in disputed Kashmir, officials have said, after the UN urged the nuclear-armed rivals to show “maximum restraint” after Tuesday’s massacre of Indian tourists by terrorists.

Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.

Syed Ashfaq Gilani, a government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told Agence France-Presse on Friday that troops exchanged fire along the line of control (LoC) that separates the two countries.

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“There is post-to-post firing in Leepa valley overnight. There is no firing on the civilian population. Life is normal. Schools are open,” said Gilani, a senior government official in Jhelum valley district.

India’s army confirmed there had been limited firing of small arms that it said had been initiated by Pakistan, adding it had been “effectively responded to”.

Three Indian army officials told Reuters that Pakistani soldiers used small-arms to fire at an Indian position. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, and the incident could not be independently verified, according to Reuters. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.

Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report