Pakistan and India have reported “fierce” cross-border conflict in the disputed region of Kashmir. Just a day earlier, the United States reiterated its offer to facilitate peace talks between the two South Asian rivals.
The Pakistani military said on Wednesday (September 23) that India shot and killed two Pakistani soldiers in “unprovoked ceasefire violations” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and Pakistan.
Pakistani military media said the Pakistani troops returned fire, causing “heavy damage” to the Indian post where the initial shots were fired.
An Indian Defense Ministry spokesman accused Pakistani troops of “firing with light weapons and then heavy mortar fire” in the early morning in the southern part of Poonchu on the India-Pakistan line of control. The spokesman said there were no casualties and that Indian troops returned “appropriate” fire.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors, India and Pakistan, often accuse each other of launching unprovoked attacks in violation of a 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir. The conflict that has erupted in recent months has resulted in dozens of civilian and military deaths on both sides.
Kashmir is predominantly populated by Muslims, and both Pakistan and India claim sovereignty over the entire Kashmir region, which has been the subject of two wars.
U.S. Offers to Mediate Proposal
President Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, William Todd, on Tuesday called for defusing regional tensions.
We hope that both countries will take the necessary steps to reduce tensions,” Todd said during a congressional hearing in Washington. As President Trump has suggested, we are prepared to facilitate dialogue if requested by both sides.”
Todd emphasized that the Trump administration seeks to develop “strong” relations with both India and Pakistan.
Todd said, “In terms of regional dynamics, while we have a strong relationship with India, it doesn’t have to be at the expense of Pakistan’s interests. I believe that we can have a strong relationship with both countries once the conditions are right.”
India is strongly opposed to any third party stepping in to coordinate a solution to the India-Pakistan border dispute, including Kashmir.
India in August 2019 revoked the decades-old semi-autonomous status of Indian-administered Kashmir and divided the region into two federal dependencies, leading to a dangerous rise in regional tensions.
Pakistan has rejected this, and Islamabad has stated that a long-standing UN Security Council resolution stipulates that the international community recognizes the existence of a dispute over Kashmir.
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