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2nd LD Writethru: Indian cross-border firing kills 3 Pakistani soldiers, 7 civilians: army

Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Pakistan army said Wednesday that Indian cross-border firing has killed three soldiers and injured several others on the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.

An army statement also said that "seven Indian soldiers are confirmed dead in retaliatory fire."

"3 Pakistani soldiers valiantly embraced shahadat (martyrdom) at Line of Control while responding to Indian unprovoked firing," a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

Earlier on Wednesday the Pakistan army said that Indian cross-border firing in the day hit a bus in the Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and killed at least seven Pakistani civilians.

Police officials in the area have also confirmed the death toll while 15 others were wounded in the Indian firing on the bus.

Jamil Mir, superintendent of police in Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, told the media that the bus was heading to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the valley.

There has been escalation along the LoC, the de facto border, between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region, since suspected militants killed 19 soldiers in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September.

The Indian military blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack saying Pakistan was behind the attack, but Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested independent investigation.

Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003, however, firing exchanges do take place time to time and the cross-LoC firing has increased in recent days. Both countries accuse each other of ceasefire violations.

Pakistani army said on Monday that Indian firing killed at least four Pakistani nationals and injured 10 others in different sectors along the LoC.

Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on Tuesday over the Nov. 21 cross-LoC attack, the foreign ministry said.

Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz told the Senate on Tuesday that his country is ready to resume meaningful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including the dispute of Kashmir through comprehensive and composite talks.

Pakistan and Indian have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule. Endit