Pakistan and India dispute violation of 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir

Pakistan army accuses India of violating 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir; India denies accusation

2008-07-10 16:17:11 -

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's army spokesman accused Indian forces of violating a 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir on Thursday, but a top Indian official denied the country's army had fired on Pakistan's positions in the disputed Himalayan region.
Pakistan's Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the Indian army fired mortars and small arms without any provocation  in the Battal sector of Kashmir. Pakistan's forces returned fire, he said.
The local Pakistani commander lodged a protest with his Indian counterpart, Abbas said. The army's director general of military operations later spoke to his Indian counterpart to set up a meeting on the matter, he said.
«The Indian army opened fire at 2 p.m. today without any provocation, and our forces deployed there also returned fire,» Abbas said. «The Indian army is to be blamed for the breach of cease-fire.
Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. S.D. Goswami denied its forces targeted Pakistani positions, and claimed Pakistan-based militants had opened fire on Indian forces as the militants tried to slip into Indian-controlled Kashmir.
«A group of militants fired on our troops during an infiltration bid. Our army returned the fire and foiled the infiltration bid,» said Goswami.
He said that in a separate incident Thursday in the same area, Pakistani soldiers opened fire on Indian positions but: «We didn't retaliate.
Abbas declined to respond to the Indian allegations.
Pakistan and India have a long history of bitter relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir _ which is divided between them but claimed by both _ since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The frontier has been largely quiet since the 2003 cease-fire between India and Pakistan, whose relations have warmed amid a peace process launched in recent years.
Nearly a dozen Islamic rebel groups also have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.
The gunfire came days after a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 58 people. Indian diplomats say the attack was an attempt to discourage Indian aid projects in Afghanistan, which have totaled US$750 million since 2001.
Afghan officials put the blame for the blast on a regional intelligence agency _ widely seen as a reference to Pakistan.
Pakistan has denied any involvement, insisting it wants stability in the region and good relations with India.