2 Pakistani troops killed at Kashmir border: Military

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Two Pakistani army soldiers were killed in a clash with Indian border troops along the Kashmir border, the military said on Tuesday.

The latest in a slew of border skirmishes, the fresh clash took place along the Line of Control (LoC) -- a de facto border that splits the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir between the two nuclear neighbors.

"Indian troops initiated cease-fire violation in Bagsar Sector along LOC. During intense exchange of fire, two soldiers, Naik Shahjahan, age 35 years and Sepoy Hameed, age 21 years, while fighting valiantly embraced shahadat (martyrdom)," said a statement from the Pakistan Army.

Pakistani troops responded befittingly, causing "heavy losses to Indian troops in men and material," it added.

Already fraught relations between the two South Asian nuclear rivals have further flared up after India scrapped the special provisions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts but claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also controlled by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, New Delhi and Islamabad have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups have been fighting against the Indian rule for independence, or for unification with Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands have been killed and tortured in the conflict that flared up in 1989.