A civilian was killed Tuesday in Indian Kashmir as Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy fire along their border in the south of the disputed territory, police said. The Pakistan side soon fired heavy weapons which is being retaliated (by Indian troops),” the official said. India’s defence minister told parliament recently that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire over 1,000 times since the agreement, while Pakistan regularly registers complaints of violations by India to a UN mission which monitors the border. The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both, since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. Since 1989 several rebel groups have been fighting hundreds of thousands of Indian forces deployed in the region, seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

Source: The Guardian June 20, 2024 16:56 UTC