ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani men were killed on Friday in firing by India’s Border Security Force near the international frontier dividing the two countries, Pakistani security sources said, with both sides giving conflicting accounts of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The shooting near Pakistan’s eastern Kasur district comes a day after Islamabad challenged Indian reports that its forces had killed a former Pakistani soldier who was working for a militant group in Kashmir, with Pakistan’s military producing the soldier alive at a news conference.

The latest tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors are unfolding less than 18 months after they fought their most serious military confrontation in years.

Pakistani security sources said three unarmed residents of Ladhar village near Kasur had moved only a few steps beyond a border pillar when Indian Border Security Force personnel opened fire without warning, killing two and wounding the third.

“All three citizens were unarmed,” the sources said, adding that none had attempted to cross the border fence.

They identified the two men killed as Azmat Rasool and Mohsin Jutt, both residents of Jattan Wali Haveli in Ladhar village.

Indian media, citing BSF and other official sources, gave a different account, describing the men as suspected Pakistani infiltrators who were attempting to cross into India near a border post in Punjab.

The incident comes days after Indian authorities said security forces had killed a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander identified as Hashim Musa, also known as Asif Fauji, in an intelligence-led operation in Budgam. Indian media published a photograph of a Pakistani national identity card belonging to former soldier Mohammad Asif, reporting that his body had been recovered after the operation and that he had been involved in a string of militant attacks in disputed Kashmir.

Pakistan’s military produced Asif alive at a news conference on Thursday, where he told reporters: “I am alive and in front of you.”

Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry described the episode as a “false flag,” presenting Indian military statements, government releases and media reports that he said showed an attempt to implicate Pakistan.

India has long accused Pakistan of cross-border militancy in Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed in full but ruled in part by both countries. Pakistan denies providing military support to the insurgency against Indian rule.

Relations deteriorated sharply after an April 2025 attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers and launched strikes inside Pakistan the following month. Islamabad denied involvement and responded militarily before a ceasefire ended four days of fighting.