Pakistani soldier killed along Kashmir border

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Thursday accused Indian border force of killing an army troop in an "unprovoked" firing along Kashmir’s border.

In a statement, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a media-wing of Pakistan army, said the soldier was killed in Hajipir sector of the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that divides the disputed Himalayan valley between the two countries.

Already soured relations between the two South Asian nuclear rivals, have further plummeted after India’s controversial move to scrap special provisions to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The state has been under a near-complete lockdown since Aug. 5.

Three Pakistani and five Indian soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire along the LoC last month.

Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.

Indian authorities, however, claim that daytime restrictions have been lifted in 90% of the region.

From 1954 until Aug. 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed special status under the Indian constitution, which allowed it to enact its own laws.

The provisions also protected the region's citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in and owning land in the territory.

India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir.