0
SRINAGAR: India on Monday accused Pakistan of violating a cease-fire agreement in Kashmir after an Indian army soldier was killed in gunfire allegedly from Pakistan's side of the disputed Himalayan region.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Biplab Nath said that Pakistani soldiers fired machine guns and rockets on an Indian military post late Sunday night, killing the soldier near the frontier.
Pakistan's army could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir since they gained independence more than 60 years ago, but their forces have observed a cease-fire there since November 2003, albeit one punctuated by occasional incidents of shooting.
India also accuses Pakistan of helping militants cross from its portion of Kashmir to the Indian side, which Pakistan denies.
Sunday's shooting occurred in Poonch sector, 110 miles southwest of Srinagar, Nath said.
He said the Indian side did not retaliate as they did not want the situation to escalate.
''We're lodging a protest with our Pakistani counterparts at an appropriate level,'' he said. — AP
