India and Pakistan continue to trade fire across Kashmir border
India and Pakistan have exchanged gunfire for a fourth night in a row in the wake of a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last week.
The Indian army said it responded to 'unprovoked small arms fire' from multiple Pakistan Army posts around midnight on Sunday along the 740km (460-mile) de-facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani areas of the disputed region, which both nations have claimed since their separation in 1947. The persistent cross-border skirmishes have raised fears of wider military escalation between the rival nuclear powers.
The Pakistani military has not yet commented on the latest exchange of fire. No casualties have been reported.
The skirmishes come after gunmen killed 26 people near the resort town of Pahalgam in Muslim-majority Kashmir last Tuesday. It was the deadliest attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
Security officials and survivors said that gunmen segregated men during the attack, asking their names and targeting Hindus before shooting them at close range.
The attack triggered outrage and grief in India, with New Delhi accusing Pakistan of funding and encouraging 'cross-border terrorism' in Kashmir. Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral probe.
Following the attack, India launched an extensive security operation, and identified two of the three suspects as Pakistani.
Security forces detained approximately 500 people for questioning and searched nearly 1,000 houses and forests, hunting for the attackers, according to a local police official cited by news agency Reuters.
The two nations have since unleashed a raft of measures against one another.
India has put the critical Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and sealed its land border with Pakistan. Islamabad has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
India's defence forces have conducted several military exercises across the country since the attack. Some of these are routine preparedness drills, a defence official said.
Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, said in a social media post on Sunday that it 'unequivocally' denies involvement in the attack.
The group stated that an earlier message that claimed responsibility was the result of a cyberattack, suggesting that it was the work of Indian intelligence.
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