India, Pakistan Clash for 2nd Day in Kashmir Region

NEW DELHI — India and Pakistan traded fire across their border Friday, and India again accused Pakistan of escalating clashes to cover the infiltration of militants into the disputed Kashmir region.

“After exercising utmost restraint, our troops retaliated appropriately,” an Indian Defense Ministry statement said.

Tensions have been rising after India’s underground nuclear tests last week, which left Pakistan weighing whether to respond with nuclear tests of its own.

Although clashes along the Kashmir border are routine, they seldom are officially reported. Friday was the second consecutive day that India accused Pakistan of heating up the frontier to assist movement of guerrillas. Thursday, a Pakistani official called the accusation baseless, but the government had no comment Friday.

Kashmir, a Himalayan region that straddles the two countries, has long been a flash point, sparking two of the three wars between Pakistan and India. Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority state in predominantly Hindu India.

Also Friday, President Clinton for the second time this week called Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to urge that he not respond in kind to India’s nuclear tests.

In remarks to reporters at the White House, Clinton did not say whether Sharif offered any assurances. Clinton said it was a “good long conversation about where we go from here.”