Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire – Pressure builds on Delhi to retaliate

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Indian army soldiers give a gun salute to their colleague Gangadhar Dalai, who was killed in a militant attack in Uri, Kashmir, prior to his cremation in Jamuna Balia village, west of Kolkata, India on Sept 20. Early Sunday, fighters slipped into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 15 soldiers. (AP)
Indian army soldiers give a gun salute to their colleague Gangadhar Dalai, who was killed in a militant attack in Uri, Kashmir, prior to his cremation in Jamuna Balia village, west of Kolkata, India on Sept 20. Early Sunday, fighters slipped into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 15 soldiers. (AP)

SRINAGAR, India, Sept 20, (Agencies): Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire across their disputed border in Kashmir on Tuesday, two days after a deadly raid on an army base that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Eighteen soldiers died in Sunday’s attack, which was the worst of its kind to hit the divided Himalayan region in more than a decade and has increased hostility between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Indian army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia, said there had been a “ceasefire violation” near Uri, where Sunday’s attack took place, but gave no further details.

Uri is near the Line of Control (LoC) which divides the disputed territory. “Small arms exchange of fire is on in the area,” a senior police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. Occasional violations of a 2003 ceasefire between the nuclear-armed rivals are not uncommon.

The last was reported on September 6 this year and caused no casualties. Tuesday’s exchange was the first since Sunday’s attack, which the Indian army has blamed on Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad. It was implicated in an audacious assault on an Indian air force base in Pathankot in the northern state of Punjab in January that left seven soldiers dead and dashed hopes of a revival of peace talks, which have been on ice ever since. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947.

Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it. Several rebel groups have fought an estimated 500,000 Indian forces deployed in the territory, demanding independence for the Muslim-majority region or its merger with Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people have died in the fighting, most of them civilians.

Meanwhile, India’s prime minister came under increasing pressure Monday from within his own party, as many in the country demanded a strong response to a deadly weekend attack that the government blames on Pakistan-based militants. But amid the calls for revenge, many analysts warned that a military response would be extremely dangerous, and that diplomatic and trade restrictions were far more likely.

Slipped
Early Sunday, fighters slipped into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 15 soldiers. Four militants were killed in the attack, which occurred near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Indian investigators say maps, weapons and other evidence indicated the fighters were from Jaish-e-Mohammed, an outlawed militant group based in Pakistan. India’s many all-news TV channels have been filled with outrage since the attack, with commentators demanding that India respond forcefully against Pakistan.

The calls for punitive action have spread across social media and into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and among his Hindu nationalist supporters. Ram Madhav, the party’s general secretary, said India needed to hit back hard. “For one tooth, the whole jaw,” he wrote on Twitter.

Modi has tried to assuage the anger, tweeting that, “I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished.” The attack came amid the largest protests against Indian rule in Kashmir in years, sparked by the July 8 killing by Indian soldiers of a popular rebel commander.

The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralyzed life in Kashmir. More than 80 people, nearly all of them protesters, have been killed in the violence. India has for decades accused Pakistan of funding, training and equipping Islamic militants and then helping them cross into the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Pakistan says it only gives the militants diplomatic and moral support.

Pakistan denied any role in Sunday’s attack, with the Foreign Ministry saying in a statement that it “has noted with serious concern the recent spate of vitriolic and unsubstantiated statements emanating from Indian civil and military leadership.” India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir. Both nations claim the Himalayan province in its entirety.

The two countries have held numerous rounds of talks over the years, but never have reached agreement on Kashmir. In the past, when it was in the opposition, Modi’s party loudly criticized responses to terror attacks by the then ruling Congress party, calling its leaders weak-kneed and timid. During the bitter 2014 election campaign that brought him to office, Modi often taunted the Congress by saying that if he became prime minister Pakistan would not dare to provoke India.

A similar attack on an Indian military installation occurred in January, when six gunmen entered an air force base in the town of Pathankot close to the Pakistan border. The rebels paralyzed the massive base for nearly four days, and killed seven soldiers. India responded by suspending talks with Pakistan, a reaction that also angered many in Modi’s party.

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