Five civilians were killed and thousands took refuge in camps in the disputed region of Kashmir yesterday after some of the most intense fighting between nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan and India in a decade.
A total of nine Pakistani and eight Indian civilians have been killed since fighting erupted more than week ago in the mostly Muslim Himalayan region. Kashmir is claimed by both countries and has been a major focus of tension in South Asia. Each side has accused the other of targeting civilians and unprovoked violations of a border truce that has largely held since 2003.
While exchanges of sporadic fire are common along the de facto border dividing the region, civilian deaths are unusual. Three Pakistani and two Indian civilians were killed on Wednesday.
“We are all concerned and want an early solution to it (the fighting),” India’s Air Chief Arup Raha told reporters. “We don’t want to let the issue become serious.” The fighting comes at a time of changing power dynamics in South Asia, with Pakistan’s army taking a more assertive role in politics and India’s new nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising a more muscular foreign policy.