Pakistani soldier killed in cross-border skirmish with Indian troops in Kashmir

BATTAL, Pakistan, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A Pakistani solider was killed Tuesday during a cross-border skirmish with Indian troops in the disputed Kashmir and Jammu region, which is claimed by both nations.

Pakistan's Inter-Service Public Relations, the media arm of the Pakistani military, identified the soldier as Sepoy Shams, 20, and said, "Pakistani troops responded befittingly to unprovoked firing by Indian forces," according to Dawn News.

Xinhua news agency meanwhile quoted Lt. Col. Manish Mehta, a Jammu-based Indian military spokesman, as saying "unprovoked cease-fire violations by Pakistan" on Monday -- including heavy machine-gun and mortar fire -- were "retaliated appropriately by our troops."

Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two exclusively over the Kashmir and Jammu region.

Despite a 2003 cease-fire agreement, the military forces of both nations frequently trade fire at the Line of Control, a more than 400-mile long border that divides the region. Accusations of initiation are exchanged as commonly as bullets and shells.

Last week, an Indian soldier was injured during cross-border firing with Pakistani troops in the Krishna Ghati sector of the LoC, and at least nine Indian and Pakistani civilians were killed in shelling between both sides on Aug. 28 -- three days after a Pakistani sniper killed an Indian army officer in the Kupwara district.

Dawn News previously reported 26 Pakistanis had been killed in more than 200 cease-fire violations over the past three months.

Tuesday's incident comes after Indian and Pakistani military generals concluded three-day bi-annual talks in which both sides agreed to avoid any further cease-fire violations.