Indian military says Pakistani troops fired at positions along the border in disputed Kashmir

SRINAGAR India AP Pakistani soldiers fired at Indian posts along the highly militarized frontier in disputed Kashmir for a second consecutive night the Indian military noted Saturday as tensions flared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists last week India described the massacre in which gunmen killed people the greater part of them Indian tourists as a terror attack and accused Pakistan of backing it Pakistan denies the charge The assault near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance It was the restive region s worst assault targeting civilians in years In the days since tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir The region is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety The Indian army noted Saturday that soldiers from multiple Pakistani army posts overnight opened fire at Indian troops all across the Line of Control in Kashmir Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms the announcement stated There were no casualties published the message added There was no comment from Pakistan and the incidents could not be independently verified In the past each side has accused the other of starting limit skirmishes in the Himalayan region Markets and bazaars were open in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Saturday and there was no sign of evacuations from villages near the Line of Control Tit-for-tat measures and a spike in tensions After the tourist attack India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and closed the only functional land dividing line spanning It revoked visas issued to Pakistanis with effect from Sunday Pakistan retaliated by canceling visas issued to Indians closing its airspace to Indian airlines and suspending pact with its neighbor Nationals from both sides began heading to their home countries through the Wagah boundary near Pakistan s eastern city of Lahore on Friday Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday vowed the establishment would respond with full force and might to Indian attempts to stop or divert the flow of water He also mentioned Pakistan was open to participating in any neutral transparent and credible assessment into the tourist attack On Saturday a Pakistani official from the tragedy management agency Saeed Qureshi accused India of suddenly releasing large amounts of water into the Jhelum River raising fears of flooding in parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir Officers narrated residents living along the riverbank to evacuate Qureshi announced A spokesman for India s External Affairs Ministry was not at once available for comment New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism a charge Pakistan rejects A great number of Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since for uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country Iran offers to mediate while Trump declines to engage With tensions high Iran offered mediation while U S President Donald Trump declared he expected them to work out their differences Tehran stands ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to forge greater understanding at this challenging time Iranian Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi stated on Friday India and Pakistan are brotherly neighbors of Iran Like other neighbors we consider them our foremost priority Araghchi wrote in a social media post Trump on Friday announced there s great tension between Pakistan and India but there perpetually has been Trump who spoke on board Air Force One did not answer when questioned by reporters whether he would contact leaders of the two countries but reported they ll get it figured out one way or the other The U S has long called for calm between India and Pakistan and mediated during a major frontier skirmish in U S intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard expressed solidarity with India in its hunt for the perpetrators of the latest attack India intensifies its crackdown in Kashmir After Tuesday s assault Indian forces intensified a crackdown in the Kashmir Valley the heartland of anti-India rebellion They detained and questioned at least people three police functionaries stated Troops detonated explosives in the family homes of at least three suspected militants in southern Kashmir Friday night residents declared In one such event dozens of other houses also suffered damage with their windowpanes shattering and walls cracking due to the impact of the blast The police functionaries insisted on anonymity in keeping with their departmental protocol while the villagers feared reprisals from officers Early Friday troops also destroyed the family homes of two suspected militants they accused of being involved in Tuesday s attack Indian troops demolish homes as a common anti-militancy tactic in Kashmir Roy informed from New Delhi and Ahmed from Islamabad Associated Press writer Ishfaq Hussain contributed to this story from Muzaffarabad Pakistan Source