SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A fierce exchange of gunfire and shelling took place along the heavily militarized frontier between India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir, resulting in the death of an Indian border guard, according to officials on Thursday.
Authorities in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir reported that Pakistani soldiers fired mortars and machine guns at border posts in the southern Jammu area on Wednesday night, describing the attack as “unprovoked.”
India’s Border Security Force stated that its soldiers “befittingly responded” and confirmed the death of one of its border guards.
The clash came to an end early Thursday, with no immediate comment from Pakistan. The two countries frequently accuse each other of initiating border skirmishes in the Himalayan region, which is claimed in its entirety by both.
Last month, two Indian border guards and three civilians were injured in fighting along the frontier with Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir, having fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing claims to the region. In the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, militants have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. In 2003, the two nations agreed to a cease-fire that has largely held despite periodic skirmishes.
The contested frontier between the nuclear-armed countries includes a 740-kilometer (460-mile) rugged and mountainous stretch known as the Line of Control, guarded by their armies.
Additionally, both countries have separate paramilitary border forces guarding their somewhat defined, lower-altitude 200-kilometer (125-mile) boundary separating Indian-controlled Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab.
In 2021, the two nations reaffirmed their 2003 cease-fire agreement after months of near-daily fighting that claimed numerous lives on both sides in Kashmir.