Pakistan blames India over latest deadly Kashmir clash

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard during a curfew imposed on the Kashmiri summer capital in Srinagar on July 19, 2013. Pakistan accused Indian troops on Wednesday of killing an army officer and seriously wounding a soldier in the latest clash across the disputed border in Kashmir. (AFP/File)

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan accused Indian troops on Wednesday of killing an army officer and seriously wounding a soldier in the latest clash across the disputed border in Kashmir.

Tensions have flared between the nuclear-armed neighbours in recent weeks over the Himalayan territory, which both control in part but claim in full.

Skirmishes have erupted across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC) since five Indian soldiers were killed earlier this month in an ambush which Delhi has blamed on the Pakistan army.

"A Pakistan Army officer Captain Sarfraz embraced shahadat (martyrdom) due to Indian troops' unprovoked shelling at Shakma sector on line of control," a Pakistani military statement said.

Another soldier was seriously wounded in the firing which began late Tuesday, the statement said, adding that Pakistani troops had returned fire.

An Indian army official told AFP he had no information about the incident or the casualties reported by Pakistan.

India's Defence Minister A. K. Antony said Monday the army would take "all possible steps" to counter ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border.

Islamabad denied any involvement in the ambush which triggered the latest round of clashes. The incident was the deadliest in years targeting Indian troops in the disputed Muslim-majority region.

Kashmir has been the trigger for two of the three wars between the nations.

The renewed tensions have jeopardised plans for what the two governments hoped might be a breakthrough encounter between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of a UN meeting in New York next month.