SRINAGAR, India — India on Wednesday accused Pakistani troops of firing guns and mortars on at least 50 Indian border posts overnight in disputed Kashmir, calling it the most serious cease-fire violation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in a decade.
The attacks began Tuesday night in southern Kashmir after India's home minister visited the region to review security, Border Security Force spokesman Vinod Yadav said. Indian troops returned fire, but one Indian guard was killed and six were injured by a shell fired at the Arnia post in the Jammu region, he said.
At least 100 civilians were being moved from the villages of Arnia and Ramgarh near the frontier, local Indian police officer Rajesh Kumar said. Hundreds more were sheltering overnight in government camps away from any gunfire, which had injured 12 civilians in recent days, officials said.
"These people usually go back to their homes in the day as the firing incidents mainly occur during the night," said civil administrator Shantmanu, who uses one name.
While nearly 200 smaller violations of the 2003 cease-fire agreement have been reported this year, Yadav called the latest skirmishes the most serious in a decade. In most cases, India or Pakistan accuses the other of initiating the fighting.
India also regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri rebels who have been fighting on the Indian side since 1989 for independence or a merger with Pakistan. An estimated 68,000 people have been killed in the conflict, though most resistance is now shown through street protests. Pakistan denies giving any backing to the rebels beyond moral support.
Both India and Pakistan, however, have reported an increase in the number of cross-border attacks since the current Pakistani and Indian prime ministers held their first face-to-face meeting last month in New York and agreed on the need to reduce tensions.
Pakistan said Indian troops targeted 27 Pakistani posts near Sialkot in the last two days with machine guns and mortars. The Indians fired nearly 4,000 mortars and 59,000 machine gun rounds, and Pakistani troops responded, Pakistan's military said. During the last two weeks, Indian troops have killed two Pakistani civilians and a soldier and wounded 26 other civilians, it said.
