Pakistani soldier dies in latest attack in Kashmir

NEW DELHI (AP) ? Pakistan accused Indian troops on Wednesday of killing one of its soldiers along the disputed Kashmir border, in the latest of a series of tit-for-tat attacks that threaten to ratchet up tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday that his country's relations with archrival Pakistan "cannot be business as usual." In Islamabad, the Pakistan military said Indian troops fired at a Pakistani army post across the so-called line of control that divides the Himalayan region.

Two other Pakistani soldiers and two Indian soldiers have died during the past 10 days in the worst bout of fighting in the region in nearly 10 years. India said one of its soldiers was beheaded.

"What has happened is unacceptable," Singh said of the killing of the Indians, according to media reports. He made the brief comments to reporters at a New Delhi gathering for India's annual day honoring the military.

The Pakistani army said the shooting by Indian troops late Tuesday was unprovoked and occurred in the Hot Spring and Jandot sectors of Pakistan-held Kashmir. The soldier who was killed was identified as Naik Ashraf. The army said he is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Col. R.K. Palta, an Indian army spokesman, said Wednesday that Pakistani troops fired at two Indian positions using small arms and mortar fire on Tuesday night in the Poonch sector of the Indian portion of Kashmir. "Our troops didn't fire at all," Palta said.

Also on Wednesday, Indian army chief Gen. Bikram Singh said cross-firing between Indian and Pakistani soldiers at the line of control was a normal activity. "They fire, we fire."

"Our troops don't cross the line of control. We respect human rights," he told reporters.

Lt. Gen. K.T. Parnaik, an Indian commander in charge of the troubled area, said, "We want to ensure that we dominate the line of control and don't let them (Pakistanis) provoke us into making it a hot line of control."

In Islamabad, the Pakistani army said its chief of military operations planned to talk to his Indian counterpart on Wednesday to protest the most recent shooting.

In a speech in New York on Tuesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar accused India of "warmongering."

India and Pakistan have been rivals for decades and have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir. The Himalayan region is divided between the two countries, but each claims it in its entirety.

So far, senior Pakistani and Indian officials have kept tension from the recent events from spiraling out of control. They are trying to limit the potential damage to relations, which have slowly warmed since Pakistani militants killed 166 people in the Indian coastal city of Mumbai. They suspended peace talks after the Mumbai attack, but both countries have economic and other reasons for wanting better ties.

Still, the clashes along the Kashmir border highlight how easily simmering tension can flare into conflict. The biggest risk remains an attack by militants like the one in Mumbai that would likely scuttle the reconciliation process once again.

The tension has already disrupted cultural and sporting ties. Performances by a Pakistani theater group were canceled in the western Indian city of Jaipur and in the Indian capital following protests by hard-line Hindu groups.

On Tuesday, nine Pakistani hockey players who came to India to participate in a tournament were sent home.

The tension comes as political turmoil is increasing in Islamabad, with Pakistan's top court ordering the arrest of the country's prime minister in a corruption case, officials said, and a firebrand cleric rallying thousands of people in the capital against the government.

On Monday, Indian army chief Gen. Bikram Singh accused Pakistan of planning the attacks that left the two Indian soldiers dead ? making clear he felt it was not an unintentional skirmish ? and warned of possible retaliation.

"The attack on Jan. 8 was premeditated, a pre-planned activity. Such an operation requires planning, detailed reconnaissance," Singh told reporters. He said India reserved the right to retaliate at a "time and place of its choice."

Singh urged his troops to be "aggressive and offensive in the face of provocation and fire" from Pakistan. He said the alleged beheading of the Indian soldier was "unacceptable and unpardonable" and accused Pakistan of violating the "ethics of warfare."

The Kashmir fighting began Jan. 6 when Pakistan accused Indian troops of raiding an army post and killing a soldier. India denied launching the attack and said its troops had fired across the border in response to Pakistani shelling that had destroyed an Indian home.

Two days later, India said Pakistani soldiers, taking advantage of heavy fog, crossed the de facto border and killed two Indian soldiers, beheading one. On Jan. 10, Pakistan said Indian troops had fired across the border and killed another of its soldiers. The Pakistani army said the shooting was unprovoked, while the Indian military said its troops were responding to fire from across the frontier.

Pakistan denies India's allegations and has suggested U.N. monitors in the region conduct an inquiry ? a call that India rejected, saying it didn't want to internationalize the issue.

Pakistan and India struck a cease-fire agreement over Kashmir in November 2003. There have been periodic violations of the cease-fire, but the incidents during the past week have been the most serious.

In Pakistan, the Supreme Court's arrest order for Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday was likely to inflame antagonism between the government and the court. The order is linked to allegations of corruption in bidding on private power stations. Ashraf previously served as minister for water and power.

The arrest order could provide ammunition for Tahir-ul-Qadri, a Muslim cleric who is leading massive protests in Islamabad to press for the removal of the government, which he says is made up of corrupt politicians.

___

Abbot reported from Islamabad.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-soldier-dies-latest-attack-kashmir-211503312.html

George Bush weather.com After Christmas Sales 2012 Charles Durning Webster Ny Mcdonalds Restaurants Open on Christmas Day