Pakistan Says Kashmir Woman Killed by Indian Shelling
Pakistani authorities on Friday accused the Indian army of killing a civilian woman in cross-border shelling violating a ceasefire agreement in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Three other civilians -- the woman's husband and daughter, and a third female relative -- were wounded in the shelling, local officials said.
India and Pakistan often accuse each other of violating a 2003 ceasefire agreement in Kashmir. The two countries have fought three wars, two of them over the divided and disputed Kashmir region.
The latest incident took place on Friday in Nezapir sector, located in Forward Kahuta district on the Line of Control (LoC), the region's de facto border.
"Indian army shelling has continued since morning. One woman was killed when a shell hit her house," Sardar Tahir Mehmood, deputy commissioner in the district in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told AFP.
Mehmood said the husband and daughter of the woman, named as 41-year-old Muneera Begum, were wounded along with a female relative in the shelling.
Asad Naqvi, a police official in the area, confirmed the incident and casualties.
Tension between India and Pakistan are high along the LoC, the de facto border which splits the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's national security adviser, on Thursday said he would visit India on August 23 for talks.
Aziz said the visit would not be herald a "breakthrough" in the issues straining tensions between the rivals, but said it would at least break the ice on some of them, adding: "let's hope it will lead to further, more comprehensive dialogue on the other issues between the two countries."
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both, since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947.
Source: Agence France Presse
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