Funeral after deadly exchange of fire in Kashmir
(20 Oct 2019) A funeral was held on Sunday in Kashmir for two of the victims of recent cross-border shelling between Pakistani and Indian soldiers in the disputed region. At least nine people on both sides were killed, officials said. The Indian military said Pakistani soldiers targeted an Indian border post and civilian areas along the highly militarised frontier in Kashmir early in the day, leaving two army soldiers and a civilian dead. Pakistan's army later said that "unprovoked cease-fire violations" by Indian troops killed five civilians and one soldier and wounded another three civilians and two troops across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India. One Kashmiri relative of two of the victims expressed her devastation saying "our houses have been destroyed, our family members are killed by the shelling, we are poor." The army said Indian troops targeted civilians in Jura, Shahkot and Nousehri sectors. It said Pakistani forces responded with heavy fire on Indian soldiers. In response, a pro-Kashmir rally was held in Islamabad on Sunday. Protesters held placards with slogans such as "go India go back' and "end Kashmir siege." While other protesters walked round holding a 5km (3mi) Kashmir flag. India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir, which is divided between the rivals but claimed by both in its entirety. The renewed fighting comes amid an ongoing lockdown in Kashmir that was put in place after India stripped the region of its semi-autonomy in early August. Since then, soldiers from the two nations have regularly engaged in cross-border shelling and firing along their de facto frontier in Kashmir, where rebel groups are fighting for the territory to be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting the hostilities in violation of the 2003 accord. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
