Srinagar (India) (AFP)
An Indian soldier was killed by Pakistani forces on the border with Kashmir, said Friday the Indian army has been participating for three weeks in the closure of the region, still deprived of telecommunications and internet.
The Indian soldier held an outpost in the mountainous Rajouri district on Friday when he was the target of unprovoked shootings from across the border, according to local press reports.
A spokesman for the Indian Army confirmed the incident to AFP.
The two neighboring countries, armed with nuclear weapons, regularly exchange mortar fire and gunshots on the border of the Himalayan territory they claim.
The latest incident comes as relations continue to deteriorate since India revoked the special autonomy status of the part of Kashmir it controls on August 5, provoking sporadic demonstrations and outrage from Pakistan.
This is the fourth death on the Indian side since the Indian decision, decided by New Delhi.
The Pakistani army, for its part, laments the deaths of five people, including three soldiers, in bombings by Indian forces.
Border clashes occurred on Friday as the valley, including the main city of Srinagar, is governed by a strict curfew imposed with the support of massive reinforcements of troops sent by India fearing uprisings.
According to government sources, at least 4,000 people have been arrested in Indian Kashmir since 5 August.
A group of UN experts on human rights urged India Thursday to lift the blockage, saying it was an "unjustified" collective punishment.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their partition in 1947, two of them in Kashmir.
© 2019 AFP