A Pakistani teenage boy and a man were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops in Kashmir, the Pakistan Army said Friday, days after the countries warned each other against escalation at their militarized borders.
The exchange occurred Thursday night across the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto frontier that divides the Himalayan valley into parts controlled by Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety.
The 14-year-old boy and the man in his late 20s were injured in the crossfire when Indian forces targeted villages on the Pakistani side, a statement by the army said.
At least three Pakistani soldiers and two civilians were injured in a separate incident of gunfire and shelling, the army added.
Pakistani troops returned fire, but it unknown if there were any casualties on the Indian side.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi claimed that India had removed part of the fence in some areas along the LoC.
In a video statement released by Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Qureshi said they have identified five places where India has partially removed the fence.
"What are the motives behind it? Is there going to be a new misadventure? We are also concerned about this," Qureshi said.
His statement came a day after Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat warned that the situation along the LoC could escalate at any time and said his army is ready for any escalation.
Pakistan Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor called Rawat's statement "provocative."
"Provocative statements and preparations for escalation along the LoC by India's COAS (chief of the army staff) appear to be an effort, as usual, to divert the world's attention from widespread protests in India against the CAB," he tweeted, referring to India's controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, which was passed last week and grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but blocks naturalization for Muslims.
"Pakistan's Armed Forces shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression," Ghafoor added.
Qureshi also wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and informed the world body regarding India's actions in the LoC.
He has sent seven letters on the situation in Kashmir to the UNSC since Aug. 5.
"Nearly 300 innocent civilians have been targeted, including women and children, since January 2019 and nearly 3,000 cease-fire violations have taken place on the Line of Control," Qureshi said.
He also claimed that India has deployed Brahmos missiles in India-administered Kashmir and requested the UNSC to take notice.
"The spike in anti-tank missile deployment in occupied Kashmir is of concern to us as since August 2019 until now, missile tests at regular intervals reveal a clear pattern of the dangerous Indian intentions which can hurt the peace and stability of the region," Qureshi said
India's Ministry of External Affairs claims there has been a total of 2,050 cease-fire violations from Pakistan's side in 2019, in which 21 civilians lost their lives.
Tensions between the two South Asian nuclear neighbors have mounted in recent months after the Indian government scrapped Kashmir's special status which allowed citizens to enact their own laws. Since then, the valley has been under a tight lockdown.
The provisions also protected the region's citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in or owning land in the territory.
In addition, key leaders have been imprisoned or put under house arrest. Internet services have also been shut down by the authorities in the Himalayan state on multiple occasions.
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan that have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
