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Pakistan Reports Deadly Clashes With India in Kashmir

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Pakistan says three of its soldiers were killed Thursday in
   clashes with India across the disputed Kashmir border, known as the
   Line of Control (LoC), amid increasing tensions between the two nations
   over the Himalayan region.

   A Pakistani army spokesman claimed five Indian soldiers also were
   killed in retaliatory fire. Major-General Asif Ghafoor said skirmishes
   were ongoing intermittently.

   Indian military officials are reported as denying any of their
   personnel were killed, but they did confirm three Pakistani forces were
   killed in "retaliatory action."

   It was not possible to immediately seek confirmation of claims made by
   both the sides.

   Pakistan later summoned the senior most Indian diplomat in Islamabad to
   the foreign ministry to condemn what an official statement described as
   "the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces in several
   sectors along the de facto Kashmir border. "The ceasefire violations by
   India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a
   strategic miscalculation," the statement said.

   Pakistan already has expelled the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan,
   and has suspended all bilateral trade and public transport links in
   response to India's recent actions in Kashmir.

   Tensions have significantly escalated between the two nuclear-armed
   rival countries since Aug. 5 when New Delhi abruptly ended
   semi-autonomous status for the Indian-administered portion of the
   divided Himalayan region and bifurcated it into two territories to be
   directly controlled by the federal government.

   A massive security crackdown and communications blackout to deter
   violent reactions to the controversial move have since cut off millions
   of residents of Kashmir from the rest of the world.

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