India, Pakistan armies exchange fire in Kashmir

The armies of India and Pakistan Tuesday exchanged fire on line-of- control (LoC) in Kashmir, officials said. The ceasefire violation took place Tuesday late afternoon along the LoC in Durga Battalion area of frontier Poonch district, around 190 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Pakistani troops fired on Indian posts on LoC in today at 3: 15 p.m. in Poonch," said S N Acharaya, Indian army spokesman based in Jammu. "We are also retaliating to Pakistani fire." The ceasefire violation has come at a time when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chairperson of UPA Sonia Gandhi are on a two-day visit to restive region. Acharaya said the firing in the area was going on when reports last came in. "However, so far we have not suffered any damage because of the firing." LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani controlled parts. Earlier this month a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of Indian army was killed in a similar exchange of fire in Saujiyan- Mandi sector of Poonch. In January this year skirmishes between armies of two nuclear neighbors claimed lives of five troopers, two from India and three from Pakistan. New Delhi and Islamabad in 2003 agreed to observe a ceasefire along the international border and LoC in Kashmir. Though some violations have been reported on both sides, the ceasefire remains in effect. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from British, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.