Two hurt by Indian fire in Kashmir, Pakistan says

PAKISTAN: Indian troops fired into the Pakistani part of disputed Kashmir on Tuesday, wounding two youths in what Pakistan said was the first violation of a ceasefire that has held since 2003.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan nearly went to war for a fourth time in 2002 but relations have improved significantly since then, helped by the ceasefire in the Kashmir region, which is at the heart of nearly 60 years of hostility.

The Pakistani military said Indian forces fired a machine gun across the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, at Rangur Nullah in the Poonch district.

Two youths digging sand from a water channel about 400 meters (yards) inside Pakistani-controlled territory were wounded, said an army official, Major Farooq Nasir Pirzada said.

"They targeted the boys without any provocation," he said.

An Indian army spokesman denied Indian forces had opened fire.

"We haven't fired from our side. Neither have they. There has been no violation. We completely deny this," the officer, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

Farooq said while there had been "speculative fire" by both sides within their own territory, Tuesday's incident was the first "clear violation" of the ceasefire that began in November 2003.

The prime minister of Pakistani Kashmir, Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, condemned the firing and urged the international community to take note.

"It's a condemnable act which threatens the already fragile peace process," he told Reuters. Khan said he hoped there would be no escalation.

Earlier, Pakistan's Major General Shaukat Sultan said Islamabad would lodge a protest with the Indian authorities and with UN observers.

The two injured boys were more than 150 meters (164 yards) inside the Pakistani side of the LoC when they were hit by gunfire from the Indian army, he said.

Muzaffarabad, New Delhi, Wednesday, Reuters