ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The military officials of Pakistan and India on Thursday talked to each other for a second time in two days to ease tension that had mounted following New Delhi's allegation that mortars had been fired from across the Line of Control into occupied Kashmir earlier this week.

A press statement issued by the Inter-Service Public Relations said the Director-General Military Operations of the Pakistan Army contacted his Indian counterpart on hotline and "discussed the environment created by unfounded Indian allegation of mortar firing from Pakistan side."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian DGMO had called his Pakistani counterpart to discuss the incident that had occurred in the Poonch sector on Tuesday night. Sources said that India was trying to exploit the incident as a ruse to put its troops on alert 'unnecessarily'.

On Thursday, the ISPR said, "the Pakistan DGMO once again strongly reiterated Pakistan's earlier position that there was no firing carried out from the Pakistani side."

The Pakistani DGMO impressed upon his Indian counterpart that it would be pertinent if the Indian authorities investigated as to what had happen-ed in an area which was under their occupation, the ISPR said.

"Both sides agreed that such matters should be resolved at local level through flag meetings as has been happening in the past," the ISPR said. Pakistan has denied that it had committed any cease fire violation which came into effect on Nov 25, 2003.

MUKHERJEE: Meanwhile, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi on Thursday that India and Pakistan would work to defuse tensions, AFP adds. "Both sides have agreed that nothing should be done to heighten tension," Mr Mukherjee told reporters. "Both sides are taking up measures to maintain the spirit of confidence-building," he said.