2 Pakistani soldiers killed along Kashmir LoC

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Heavy clashes between Pakistan and Indian forces were reported on Friday night after Islamabad handed over a captured Indian pilot in a gesture meant to de-escalate tensions triggered last month.

Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire in Nakiyal, near the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing the disputed Kashmir valley, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani army.

Separately two civilians were killed and two others wounded, including a woman, in Indian shelling in the Tatta Pani and Jandrot sector near the LoC, said ISPR.

"Indian troops undertook firing along LoC. Exchange of fire in Hotspring, Tatta Pani and Jandrot sectors," said an ISPR statement.

Pakistani Army troops responded by targeting Indian posts, ISPR said, adding that the air force and navy are staying on alert.

The fresh clashes began between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after Pakistan on Friday handed over an Indian pilot who had been held in Pakistan after his aircraft was downed along the disputed border with Kashmir on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Pakistani Premier Imran Khan announced the pilot’s release as a gesture of peace.

Tensions between the South Asian neighbors escalated following a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir in mid-February that left more than 40 Indian troops dead.

The attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a militant group that Pakistan has banned since 2002 but is accused by India of providing sanctuary to.

The two South Asian nations have fought three wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir -- since they were partitioned in 1947.