SRINAGAR, India: Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged gunfire and shelling along their highly militarized frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing an Indian border guard, officials said Thursday.
Authorities in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir said Pakistani soldiers fired mortars and machine guns at border posts in the southern Jammu area on Wednesday night, calling it “unprovoked.”
India’s Border Security Force said in a statement that its soldiers “befittingly responded” and that one of its border guards was killed.
The fighting ended early Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. Each side often accuses the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region, which both claim in its entirety.
Last month, two Indian border guards and three civilians were injured in fighting along the fronter with Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir. They have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing claims to the region. In the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir, militants have fought against Indian rule since 1989. In 2003, the two nations agreed on a cease-fire that has largely held despite regular skirmishes.
The nuclear-armed countries’ contended frontier includes a 740-kilometer (460-mile) rugged and mountainous stretch called the Line of Control that is guarded by their armies.
Both countries also have separate paramilitary border forces guarding their somewhat defined, lower-altitude 200-kilometer (125-mile) boundary separating Indian-administered Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab.
In 2021, the two nations reaffirmed their 2003 cease-fire accord after months of near-daily fighting that killed scores on both sides in Kashmir.
India, Pakistan border guards trade fire along Kashmir frontier; one Indian soldier killed
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India, Pakistan border guards trade fire along Kashmir frontier; one Indian soldier killed
- Both countries have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing claims to the disputed region
- In 2021, the two nations reaffirmed their 2003 cease-fire accord after months of near-daily fighting that killed scores
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
