Indian cross-border fire kills Pakistani: police

MUZAFFARABAD: Cross-border fire from Indian troops has killed a man and wounded three other civilians in two Pakistani villages, local officials said Monday.

The shooting was reported along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border that separates Indian and Pakistani-administered zones in the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have observed a ceasefire in Kashmir since November 2003, despite sporadic small-time clashes and accusations of violations from both sides.

“A civilian was killed and three others, two women and one man, were wounded in firing by Indian troops in Madarpur village on the LoC late Sunday,” local government official Sardar Khalil Ahmed told AFP.

A house in the village of Battal also caught fire after shells exploded and investigators have been sent to assess further damage in the remote mountainous area, he added.

Local police station chief Sardar Farooq confirmed the incident and casualties.

Muslim separatists have fought a 20-year insurgency against New Delhi’s rule in Indian Held Kashmir.

Kashmiris in both Indian occupied and Pakistan-administered zones want Islamabad and New Delhi to agree to a referendum on self-determination. (AFP)