Indian and Pakistani soldiers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian officials said yesterday, while the UN has urged the two sides to show “maximum restraint,” as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists.
India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian, as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir. It was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
With the region on edge, three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers fired at an Indian position in Kashmir late on Thursday. The officials on condition of anonymity said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.
Photo: REUTERS
Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region. Since then, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.
“We very much appeal to both the governments ... to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.
“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe, can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement,” he added.
India on Wednesday, suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the countries and closed their only functional land border crossing. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistanis with effect from tomorrow.
Pakistan responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indians, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India. Nationals from both sides began heading back to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore yesterday.
Additional reporting by AFP
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