Another Pakistani soldier killed along Kashmir border

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - With the region bristling over India stripping the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region of its special rights last week, another Pakistan army soldier was killed in an exchange of fire along the de facto Kashmir border, Pakistan’s military said on Friday.

The latest casualty followed the killing of three Pakistani and five Indian soldiers in renewed clashes at the Line of Control (LoC) -- the de facto border that divides the disputed valley between the two nuclear rivals -- on Thursday, said the military.

“Another brave son of soil laid his life in the line of duty and embraced Shahadat [martyrdom] due to Indian firing at Buttle sector of LOC,” Pakistan army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghaoor said on Twitter.

But India accused Pakistan of exaggerating ceasefire violations along the LoC to draw more international attention to the disputed region, according to local media.

On Twitter, India's ANI news agency cited unnamed military sources as saying Pakistan has “upscaled ‘ceasefire violations' both in terms of weapon & area in last few days.”

"Immediate aim appears to show Kashmir as potential flashpoint to seek world attention," added the tweet.

The fresh round of clashes coincides with the summoning of a UN Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss the deteriorating situation in the Himalayan valley.

Mounting tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India flared up further following last week's scrapping of the special status of the picturesque valley, which is divided between the two neighbors in parts, with both claiming it in full.

Kashmiri leaders and citizens fear the Indian government's step is an attempt to change the demographic makeup of the Muslim-majority state, where some groups have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

Balking at New Delhi’s move, Pakistan has also downgraded bilateral relations, suspended trade, and expelled the Indian high commissioners.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, Pakistan and India have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir, in addition to the three-week long Kargil skirmish in 1999.

According to several human rights groups, thousands have been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.