India, Pakistan exchange gunfire in Kashmir after missile strikes, confirmed deaths rise to 43
SRINAGAR (India), May 8 — Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged small arms and artillery fire overnight along the de facto border in contested Kashmir, the Indian army said yesterday.
The nuclear-armed rivals experienced their worst violence in two decades yesterday, after India launched deadly missile strikes on its neighbour, with days of repeated gunfire along their border escalating into artillery shelling.
India said its strikes yesterday had destroyed nine 'terrorist camps' in Pakistan, two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir — a charge Pakistan denies.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in an address to the nation late yesterday that Islamabad would 'avenge' those killed by India.
At least 43 deaths have been reported so far from both sides of the border collectively following yesterday's violence.
Islamabad said 31 civilians were killed by the Indian strikes and firing along the border, and New Delhi added at least 12 dead from Pakistani shelling.
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan of the latest reported violence along the frontier.
'During the night... Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked fire using small arms and artillery guns across the LoC (the Line of Control) in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri and Akhnoor areas in Jammu and Kashmir,' the army said in a statement, adding it had 'responded proportionately'.
Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.
'I want to see them stop,' US President Donald Trump said yesterday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is slated to meet his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate between the two sides.
India and Pakistan have fought multiple times since the violent end of British rule in 1947, when colonial officers drew straight-line borders on maps to partition the nations, dividing communities.
Muslim-majority Kashmir — claimed by both India and Pakistan — has been a repeated flashpoint. — AFP
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