India accuses Pakistan over 'inhuman' Kashmir killings

 

India has strongly condemned the "inhuman" treatment of its two soldiers who it says were killed in an alleged cross-border attack by Pakistan troops in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

India has summoned Pakistan's top envoy in Delhi over the incident.

Pakistan has rejected Indian Army allegations that it killed any Indian soldiers or fired across the Line of Control (LoC) which divides Kashmir.

Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years.
A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the soldiers' bodies had been subjected to "barbaric and inhuman mutilation" which was "in contravention of all norms of international conduct". 

A Pakistani military official said Pakistan had verified the facts on the ground and found "nothing of the sort" had happened. 

He denounced the Indian claim as "propaganda" to divert attention away from a clash on the LoC two days earlier. 

Pakistan said one of its soldiers was killed on 6 January after an Indian incursion. India denies its soldiers crossed the line. 

Body 'mutilated'
 
India says a patrol was attacked by Pakistani soldiers near the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. It says two soldiers were killed in the firefight near Mendhar, 220km (140 miles) north of the Indian city of Jammu.

The battle lasted about half an hour before "the intruders retreated back towards their side" of the LoC, an Indian statement said.
The body of one of the soldiers killed was badly mutilated, according to army spokesperson Rajesh Kalia.

Pakistan said its troops had not killed any soldiers nor fired across the LoC.
Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters that the "Pakistan army's action is highly objectionable and also the way they treated the body of the Indian soldier is inhuman.
"We will take it up with the Pakistan government. We are closely monitoring the situation," he said.

India has summoned Pakistan's high commissioner in India for a meeting with its foreign secretary on Wednesday.

Earlier, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid pledged a "proportionate" response to the attack.

He said Tuesday's incident was an "attempt to derail the dialogue" between the two countries.

'Ghastly attack'
 
Mr Khurshid told the NDTV news channel that the alleged attack was "absolutely unacceptable, ghastly, and really, really terrible and extremely short-sighted by their [Pakistan's] part".

"We need to do something about this and we will, but it has to be done after careful consideration of all the details in consultation with the defence ministry," Mr Khurshid said. 

"This seems like a clear attempt to derail the dialogue. We have to find ways in which the dialogue is not sabotaged or destroyed."

Pakistan's military has rejected the allegations of unprovoked firing as Indian "propaganda".
It said the incident was aimed at "diverting the attention of the world away from the Sunday raid on a Pakistani post by Indian troops in which a Pakistani soldier was killed". 

Pakistan has alleged that Indian soldiers crossed the LoC at the time of Sunday's incident, a charge denied by the Indian army.

Exchanges in the disputed area are not uncommon but rarely result in fatalities.
There has been a ceasefire in Kashmir since late 2003.

India suspended a peace process with Pakistan following attacks by Pakistan-based militants in Mumbai in 2008. Negotiations resumed in February last year.

Thousands of people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir since an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in 1989.

Last month, the nations signed an agreement to ease visa restrictions on travel for some citizens.