Four killed in Indian army shelling in Kashmir: Pakistani officials

Four people have been killed in a shelling by the Indian army along the de facto India-Pakistan border in Kashmir, the Pakistani military and local officials said on Wednesday.

Pakistani Major General Babar Iftikhar said on Twitter that the Indian military had violated a cease-fire in the disputed region, killing four "innocent civilians" and wounding one more in the southern part of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. 

"Pak Army troops responded effectively to Indian firing," Iftikhar said, without elaborating.

Local officials told AFP that the deaths had been caused by artillery shells landing in two neighboring villages.

The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately release a statement about the incident. 

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence over Kashmir.

Shelling and the exchange of fire across their Kashmir demarcation line is a near-daily occurrence, and in February 2019, they conducted tit-for-tat airstrikes.

Tensions increased between the nuclear-armed neighbors after India unilaterally revoked Kashmir's autonomy on August 5, 2019 and imposed movement and communications restrictions to quell unrest.

A new spat erupted this week after New Delhi accused Islamabad of torturing two Indian diplomats who had been arrested in an alleged hit-and-run in the Pakistani capital. 

Islamabad rejected the claims.

The disturbance comes after New Delhi expelled two officials from Pakistan's high commission on June 1 for alleged "espionage activities" - claims Islamabad has also rejected.

AFP