ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani army officer was killed and a soldier wounded after an exchange of fire across the de facto border with India, the Pakistani military said.
The Pakistan army said in a statement that Captain Sarfraz was killed “due to Indian troops' unprovoked shelling at Shakma sector on line of control.”
According to the statement, another soldier was also seriously injured when Indian forces opened fire at Shakma sector near the town of Skardu on Tuesday night at 11:15pm local time.
Pakistani troops responded to the firing and exchange of fire continued for several hours after midnight, said the sources.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's foreign ministry late Wednesday said the Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad was summoned and “a strong protest was lodged over the unprovoked firing by Indian army soldiers”.
“Pakistan conveyed its serious concern on the continued violations of the ceasefire across the LoC by the Indian Army over the past few weeks and the escalation of tensions,” the statement said, calling upon India “to take serious and credible measures to prevent further ceasefire violations and reduce tensions”.
An Indian army official told news agency AFP that he had no information about the incident or the casualties reported.
Recent weeks have seen an escalation in tensions between the two South Asian neighbours, with several soldiers killed on both sides of the border, which either side declares to be unilateral violations of a 2003 ceasefire by the other country.
The renewed tensions have jeopardised plans for what the two governments hoped might be a breakthrough encounter between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of a UN meeting in New York next month.
