KASHMIR: Six Pakistani soldiers and one Indian child died yesterday following an exchange of heavy artillery and mortar fire between the armies of the two countries. Rahul Bedi reports from New Delhi.
The exchange lasting several hours followed an abortive Pakistani attempt to capture an Indian military post along the line of control in Kashmir state. The line divides the state between the two rivals both of whom claim to the territory.
Army officials in the state's winter capital, Jammu, said Pakistani troops, backed by artillery fire, launched a fierce ground assault at around 4 a.m. targeting Indian army bunkers and an isolated communication tower in the Chammb sector.
Chammb was the scene of fierce tank battles during the 1965 and 1971 wars between the neighbours whose armies are once again locked in a stand-off along their 2,000-mile border. This follows an armed attack on India's parliament in December which Delhi claims was launched by Pakistan's military intelligence.
Officials said the Indian army yesterday returned fire destroying three Pakistani armoured personnel carriers and igniting an oil depot after it was hit by a mortar shell. In the ensuing firefight one child from a nearby village died and two others sustained serious injuries.
Meanwhile it was announced that the Indian army massed along the border with Pakistan is to begin winter exercises later this month and these will include measures to operate in a nuclear environment. Military officials said the exercises were routine winter manoeuvres and that there was no cause for alarm.
The manoeuvres, in the western desert state of Rajasthan and neighbouring Punjab province, will focus on tactics aimed at securing victory in a limited war. The exercises, with T 72 tanks, mechanised infantry formations and special forces, will also involve the air force.
Military officials said the objective of the manoeuvres was to "fine tune" tactics of an integrated battle so that "depth areas" can be engaged and captured. "Speed, rapid induction of forces, including airborne troops and offensive strikes, will form the core of the exercise", an official said.
The army would also test its battlefield telecommunications equipment and computers. Officials said the 11-week long border war with Pakistan in Kashmir's mountainous Kargil region in 1999 had resulted in the army overhauling its war doctrine.