Pak firing kills 2 at LoC: India
Two civilian porters working for the Indian army were killed on Sunday in firing along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between the two countries, the Indian military stated on Sunday.
According to Indian military officials, two Indian soldiers were also injured in the incident – a claim rejected by the Pakistani military.
“Two of our civilian porters were killed and two soldiers injured in firing by Pakistani troops,” Indian army spokesperson Vineet Sood told AFP on Sunday. He claimed Indian troops did not retaliate.
However, Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Maj-Gen Athar Abbas denied any such incident took place. “We have confirmed that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation,” he said. “Nothing about this is being reported, this is not true.”
The claims come at a time when tensions in Indian Kashmir, especially Srinagar, are running high. The long-running freedom movement against Indian rule in Kashmir has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count. The violence has decreased since the two countries launched a peace process in 2004, but tensions have recently flared over civilian killings blamed on security forces.
Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries, however, are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on June 24 to discuss how to proceed with bilateral dialogue. (with Additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2010.
According to Indian military officials, two Indian soldiers were also injured in the incident – a claim rejected by the Pakistani military.
“Two of our civilian porters were killed and two soldiers injured in firing by Pakistani troops,” Indian army spokesperson Vineet Sood told AFP on Sunday. He claimed Indian troops did not retaliate.
However, Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Maj-Gen Athar Abbas denied any such incident took place. “We have confirmed that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation,” he said. “Nothing about this is being reported, this is not true.”
The claims come at a time when tensions in Indian Kashmir, especially Srinagar, are running high. The long-running freedom movement against Indian rule in Kashmir has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count. The violence has decreased since the two countries launched a peace process in 2004, but tensions have recently flared over civilian killings blamed on security forces.
Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries, however, are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on June 24 to discuss how to proceed with bilateral dialogue. (with Additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2010.