As the UN calls for “maximum restraint” and “regular restraint,” Indian and Pakistani forces have engaged in firefights along the Line of Control (LOC) between the two nations in response to the recent deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam town.
Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought for independence, with both claiming the entire area and governing distinct regions, which has exacerbated the conflict.
On Friday, sources from the Indian army told Al Jazeera that the Pakistani side was the shooter’s initiator. A government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Friday confirmed to the AFP news agency that troops exchanged fire, but did not specify what started the exchange.
According to Pakistani official Syed Ashfaq Gilani, “There was no firing on the civilian population.”
Although it was unknown where along the LOC the incident occurred, Bandipora’s Umar Mehraj, a reporter for Indian-administered Kashmir, reported that two other people were hurt in a separate incident.
At least 26 people were killed at a resort in Pahalgam on Tuesday, according to suspected rebels , marking the deadliest attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in a quarter-century.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a group thought to be an offshoot of the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba armed group, was named in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
Indian police have offered a $23,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the three suspects from the UN-designated “terrorist organization.”
With India withdrawing from the Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan suspending a canal irrigation project and closing its airspace to Indian airlines in retaliation for accusations that it was involved in the deadly incident, New Delhi and Islamabad have since engaged in a significant diplomatic diplomatic exchange.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have waged three wars, have fallen to the lowest level in years as a result of the tit-for-tat announcements.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif vehemently refuted the claims that Islamabad was behind the attack in an interview with Al Jazeera late on Thursday.
He claimed that accusing Pakistan would not resolve the Indian “occupation” in Kashmir.
He continued, citing the LOC’s highly guarded nature as proof that “infiltration of some armed groups cannot be possible.”
General Upendra Dwivedi, the army chief in India, is traveling to Pahalgam on Friday to review security arrangements.
Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, had promised to “hunt the gunmen to the very end of the earth.”
Mehraj, a reporter for Al Jazeera in Pahalgam, reported that since the deadly attack, security has been increased in the area.
“Security organizations are also repressing media outlets more frequently.” He claimed that hundreds of people are being detained and questioned over their involvement in the attack.
Residents are also concerned that they could be caught in the crossfire, Mehraj continued.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan has stated that the nation is prepared to retaliate if India violates its rights.
He declared that Pakistan’s army was ready to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty against any misdeeds.
Source: Aljazeera
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