Pakistan has said that seven of its soldiers were killed by unprovoked firing by Indian forces from across the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region Monday, raising fears of exacerbation in tensions.
The latest killings in the Bhimber area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir are the worst military casualties this year since escalation of tensions between the two nuclear armed South Asian nations. The two countries have been engaged in a tense diplomatic standoff since July this year, when India used brutal tactics to suppress protests against New Delhi’s ham-handed rule.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has reported deaths of several civilians in Indian shelling, said to be targetting people along the LoC and the international boundary.
On Monday, Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of Pakistan’s armed forces, said the “unprovoked firing” across the de the Line of Control, caused the deaths. Pakistani soldiers responded by firing at Indian border posts.”
While shelling across the LoC has been common but killing of soldiers on this scale in one incident is rare.
Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, has urged the international community to intervene to make India and Pakistan restart peace talks.
“If there’s escalation between two nuclear powers, it will be catastrophic for the whole region,” said Khawaja Asif. “It can’t go on like this.”
The mountainous Kashmir region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and lies at the heart of the rivalry between the countries. Tensions in the region erupted into two full-blown wars in the past—in 1948 and 1965 as well as Kargil conflict in Kashmir in 1999.
India has been carrying out heavy firing in the disputed region, particularly since September, when an Indian border base in Kashmir was attacked by militants, killing 19 Indian soldiers. India quickly blamed Pakistan-based militants for the attack and claimed to have carried out a surgical strike. Islamabad rejected the Indian claim of any involvement. Both countries accuse each other of carrying out terror in the region.
The Pakistani government says firing by Indian forces across the border has killed 26 Pakistani civilians in the past two months and injured 107.
New Delhi and Islamabad have also accused each other’s diplomats of espionage and subversive activities in recent weeks. Pakistani and Indian diplomats have been expelled in a tit for tat actions.
Pakistan has accused India of fomenting and financing terror in Balochistan, the southwestern province, where Gawadar seaport opened over the weekend for two-way commerce between China and the Gulf, promising a new era of regional development.
