Indian and Pakistani forces exchange shots at contested Kashmir border
Hindu pilgrims walk along a mountain path as they make their pilgrimage to the sacred Amarnath Cave, one of the most revered Hindu shrines, on June 30, 2012 near Baltal, Kashmir, India. Kashmiri separatist groups recently welcomed tourists to visit the beleaguered region, in a significant shift. But now conservatives are calling for a dress code to make sure foreigners honor local customs.
Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire in the hotly contested Kashmir border area Sunday, in a confrontation Pakistani forces claim was ignited by an Indian border raid that killed one Pakistani soldier.
The Pakistani forces claim that the Indians illegally crossed the border and raided a remote check-post, writes the New York Times, in an attack that wounded two soldiers. One of the soldiers later died of his injuries.
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Indian forces deny the Pakistani's claims that the deadly raid took place, says the Voice of America, and claim that the Pakistanis shelled an Indian village across the border, forcing them to respond.
The Indians denied that they ever crossed the "Line of Control," the common name for the hotly-contested border between the two nations, which lies 49 miles north of Islamabad.
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Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir as part of their territory, and the mountainous region has been the cause of the majority of the two nation's wars since winning independence from Britain in 1947, writes AFP.
Both nations have access to nuclear arms, adding an extra layer of tension to the long-standing Kashmiri conflict.
Separatist groups, protesting against Indian rule in Kashmir, have battled on since 1989 in the region, in a conflict that has caused at least 47,000 deaths.