SRINAGAR: A heavy exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops created panic in Uri sector of Kashmirs Baramulla district with residents fearing an escalation of skirmishes in the wake of heightened tensions between Indian and Pakistani troops may desend their area back into a war zone after few years of respite.
Two Pakistani soldiers have been wounded – or possibly killed – in an exchange of machine gun fire between Indian and Pakistani troops in the Uri sector of northern Kashmir.
The Indian Army has reported heavy ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in the sector on Tuesday afternoon, hours after five Indian soldiers were killed in Poonch, 200 km from Srinagar.
Army sources said Pakistan opened indiscriminate fire on three Indian posts in Kamal Kote area of the Uri sector in Baramulla district yesterday afternoon. In the firing, that lasted nearly one hour, there were no casualties on the Indian side.
Reuters news agency has quoted a Pakistani military official as blaming “unprovoked Indian firing” for injuries to the two Pakistani soldiers. He said that senior army commanders on both sides had spoken over a special hotline after the border skirmish.
The official also said that the “Pakistan Army DG MO (director general of military operations) strongly and categorically rejected Indian allegations of LoC violation by Pakistani troops.”
Villages in picturesque Uri have been witnessing an uneasy calm after suffering decades of low intesity conflict between two standing armies on their soil. The situation particularly improved after India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire in November 2003 though occasional exchange of artillery fire continues to rattle peace. Agencies
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