Two Pakistani soldiers wounded in fresh firing at LoC
Islamabad: Two Pakistani soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire with Indian troops at the LoC in the latest flare-up of tensions between the two neighbours, officials on both sides said on Wednesday.
The shooting came just hours after India accused Pakistani forces of killing five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir in a incident that threatened to derail repeatedly stalled peace talks.
A Pakistani military official blamed "unprovoked Indian firing" for injuries to the Pakistanis on Tuesday afternoon and said that senior army commanders on both sides had spoken over a special hotline.
"Pakistan Army DG MO (director general of military operations) strongly and categorically rejected Indian allegations of LoC violation by Pakistani troops," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss operational issues with the press.
A senior Indian Army officer in J&K said two Pakistani soldiers had been wounded - or possibly killed - in an exchange of machinegun fire in Kamalkot Uri sector in northern Kashmir around midday on Tuesday.
He said Pakistani troops had opened fire and Indian forces had retaliated.
Indian army chief General Bikram Singh, center, and other army officers salute next to the coffins of Indian soldiers killed by Pakistani soldiers during a wreath laying ceremony in Jammu - PTI
The tit-for-tat violence is threatening to derail the resumption of peace talks between the two countries.
Pakistan has proposed a high-level meeting with Indian officials to restart the process. They were meant to resume earlier this year but were suspended after similar violence broke out in Kashmir.
New Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made improving trade with India a central plank of his campaign. But with elections looming in India, many are questioning whether the incumbent government can make concessions without being painted as weak by the opposition.
Pakistan violates ceasefire again
Srinagar: Pakistan violated ceasefire in Uri sector along the Line of Control by opening indiscriminate fire on Indian posts, Army sources said on Wednesday.
The Pakistani troops opened fire on three Indian posts in Kamal Kote area of Uri sector in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday afternoon, the sources said. The firing lasted nearly one hour, but there was no damage reported on the Indian side, they said.
Next: India, Pak DGMOs talk on hotline to lower tension along LoC
India, Pak DGMOs talk on hotline to lower tension along LoC
Islamabad: Top military officials of Pakistan and India on Wednesday spoke to each other on hotline to lower tension after the killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
An official of Pakistan army said that the two Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) established a 'special hotline contact this morning' to discuss the situation 'arising out of the recent Indian allegations on the LoC'.
"Pakistan army DGMO strongly and categorically rejected Indian allegations of violation by Pakistan troops and killing of five Indian soldiers at LoC in Poonch sector on 5-6 August night," the official said. He also said Pakistan has lodged a strong protest during hotline talk for "LoC violation by Indian troops in the Pandu sector today in which two Pakistan soldiers were seriously wounded."
"It was reiterated by Pakistan Army Director General of Military Operations that Pakistan abides by the ceasefire agreement existing between the two countries," said the official.
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