India Accused of Killing 3 to Derail Pakistan Talks
Pakistan on Saturday accused India of killing three people with unprovoked heavy weapons fire along the line separating the two sides in disputed Kashmir. It said the attacks seemed aimed at sabotaging planned peace talks.
Defense Ministry officials, confirming reports from residents in the region under attack, also said three people were wounded by the Indian artillery and automatic weapons fire on several villages near the United Nations-monitored line of control. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani armies in Kashmir, over which the two nations have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
An earlier ministry statement had quoted a spokesman as saying the firing began in the morning and went on into the evening.
The spokesman said the attacks “seemed to be a known Indian pattern of sabotaging dialogue whenever it was initiated to ease tension” between the nations.
He was referring to two rounds of resumed peace talks between the two countries this year. A third round is set for next month.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that plans for the September talks remained on course.
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