ISLAMABAD — Indian troops shot and killed a Pakistani soldier who crossed the makeshift border separating Indian and Pakistani-held Kashmir, officials said Friday, in a development that threatened to upset the delicate ceasefire in a region claimed by both countries. The incident in Kashmir evoked similar incidents in January in which three Pakistani soldiers and two Indian soldiers were killed. The deaths ratcheted up tension in an area where the two countries have long battled for dominance. A Pakistani military official initially told reporters in a text message Friday that the soldier was reported killed on Thursday night after he'd accidentally crossed the line of control that separates the Pakistani and the Indian held sides of Kashmir, but gave no details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with military protocol. In a more strident statement later Friday, the Pakistani military accused the Indian troops of killing the soldier after he identified himself and explained why he was accidentally in their territory. But the Indians blamed the Pakistani soldier, saying he had begun firing when confronted by their troops. Lt. Col. Rajesh Kalia, a spokesman for the Indian army in Kashmir, said the soldier was killed in a firefight with Indian troops and an Indian soldier was injured. He said Indian troops saw “suspicious movement” in the Nowshera sector of the line of control. “Our troops challenged him. This individual resorted to indiscriminate firing. Our troops retaliated. In the ensuing firefight, he was killed, and one of our soldiers was injured,” Kalia said. — AP
