Cross-border attack kills Indian soldier

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir (AA) - An Indian soldier was killed on Saturday in an alleged attack by the Pakistan army across the disputed Jammu Kashmir border, the Indian army said.

"A soldier of the Indian army was killed in cross-border firing from across Pakistan in Sundarbani sector of Rajouri district," said Col. NN Joshi, spokesman of the Indian army.

"One of our soldiers, Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane, was killed in the firing," he said.

India and Pakistan share more than 950 kilometers (590.3 miles) of border in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir. The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003 that they violate regularly.

Last December, the Indian government in the parliament blamed Pakistan for violating the ceasefire 771 times in 2017.

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

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Also in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu-Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.