Indian army says Pakistani troops fired across frontier, no casualties

Wed, May 14 05:58 PM

SRINAGAR, India (AP) _ The Indian military alleged that Pakistani troops fired at an Indian army post Wednesday across the heavily guarded frontier dividing Kashmir between the two South Asian rivals. Pakistan denied the charges.

The Indian army did not retaliate in what would be a rare violation of the cease-fire, and there were no casualties, said Indian army spokesman Lt. Col.

Anil Kumar Mathur. Mathur offered no explanation for what provoked the incident that allegedly occurred along the Line of Control, the cease-fire line recognized after a 1971 war that has since become the de-facto border separating India's part of the region from Pakistan's portion.

The frontier has been largely quiet since a 2003 cease-fire between India and Pakistan, which was followed by a peace process in 2004. "It was an unprovoked firing by the Pakistani army," said Mathur, adding that it was the first violation of the cease-fire this year.

Mathur said a meeting has been scheduled between Indian and Pakistani commanders "to lodge a formal complaint and resolve the matter amicably." However, a statement from the Pakistani military said that India had been informed that "no incident of firing from this side of the LOC took place.

" The incident took place in the Tangdhar region, some 105 miles (170 kilometers) north of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's main city. Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region.

Both claim all of Kashmir.

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