Local officials and Pakistan’s military said Indian troops backed by artillery and long-range guns fired on villages along the border in the Pakistani-administered side of the Kashmir region. A 13-year-old-girl was killed, her mother and brother injured.
In a statement on Sunday, Pakistan’s military blamed the Indian army for initiating Saturday night’s “unprovoked ceasefire violation” in the villages of Hajipir and Bedori. It said Pakistani troops “effectively responded” to the Indian fire, without elaborating.
Mortars fired by Indian troops also damaged several homes, according to local media reports and government officials.
In neighbouring India, the local police blamed Pakistani troops for initiating the gunfire, saying Pakistani mortar shelling wounded five civilians on their side of Kashmir.
Pakistan and India often trade fire in the disputed Himalayan region, with both blaming the other side for initiating the fire. The latest incident comes days after Indian fire killed four villagers in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
To discuss the latest development, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir will hold an emergency meeting via videoconference on Monday.
The online meet will bring together the foreign ministers of the Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group member states: Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the OIC said in a statement.
“The meeting is part of a series of continuous Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group meetings to address the issue,” OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen was quoted as saying.
Tensions have soared between Pakistan and India since last August, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government removed Article 30 of the constitution that guaranteed special status to the Muslim-majority region, touching off anger in Indian-controlled Kashmir and in Pakistan. Pakistan wants the changes reversed.
Since early May, China and Indian troops have been engaged in a standoff on their disputed border in Ladakh region, which was carved out of Kashmir last August. Defence experts say China has objected to New Delhi’s decision to change the status of Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
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