India, Pakistan Trade Fire Over Kashmir As Tensions Escalate

Indian and Pakistani soldiers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, AP reported Indian officials as saying on Friday, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists.

India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian, as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan denied any connection with the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir. It was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
With the region on edge, three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers fired at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday. The officials said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the report.

Tensions rise

Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region. Since then, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.
On Wednesday, India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the countries and closed their only functional land border crossing. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday.
Pakistan responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India. Nationals from both sides began heading back to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Friday.

Islamabad also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert the flow of water would be considered an “act of war.” The suspension of the water treaty could lead to water shortages at a time when parts of Pakistan are already struggling with drought and declining rainfall.
Pakistan has also warned it could suspend the Simla Agreement—in what would be a major and worrying step. The peace treaty signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war established the Line of Control, a highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between the countries.

UN calls for restraint

The United Nations has urged India and Pakistan “to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further.”
“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement,” the statement said Friday.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. New Delhi describes all militancy there as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Residents and police in southern Kashmir said Indian soldiers detonated explosives in the family homes of two suspected militants they accused of being involved in Tuesday’s attack. In the past, Indian troops have demolished homes as a way to punish militancy in Kashmir.
Authorities say they are investigating two local men and two Pakistani nationals for their alleged involvement in the attack. Officials have not elaborated or shared any evidence.