Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir after a day's lull, killing at least one civilian and wounding three others, officials said Monday.
Fighting erupted overnight as the rivals traded gunfire and shelling until dawn Monday, leaving a civilian dead and three others injured on the Indian side. The two sides resumed intermittent fighting at several places later Monday, officials said.
Click to Gallery
Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir after a day's lull, killing at least one civilian and wounding three others, officials said Monday.
The recent flare-up has left 13 civilians and nine soldiers dead and dozens injured on the two sides. The fighting also has caused extensive damage and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing from their border homes.
As in the past, both also called the violence an unprovoked violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement and summoned each other's senior diplomats in their capitals to register their anger and protest. They also issued statements condemning the violence.
"Damage to the huts and cattle is huge in the village. It was a daunting task to shift over 4,000 cows and buffaloes from the village along with about 1,200 residents who are mainly milk suppliers for the vast area," Manhas said.
Also Monday, Pakistan's powerful army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, visited the border villages of Khuiratta and Ratta Arayan, where he was briefed on "Indian cease-fire violations" which resulted into civilian and troop casualties, according to a military statement.
Top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani said the two countries should "play a constructive role for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue."
Many see the fighting as part of what's become a predictable cycle of violence, as the region convulses with decades-old animosities between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, where rebel groups demand that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
Son of Indian civilian Gopal Dass who was killed in Pakistani firing and shelling, wails at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
The recent flare-up has left 13 civilians and nine soldiers dead and dozens injured on the two sides. The fighting also has caused extensive damage and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing from their border homes.
In Pakistan, two army officials confirmed that skirmishes continued in various parts of Kashmir, causing panic among local villagers, who were moving to safer places. The officials said Pakistan responded to Indian fire only after coming under attack.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Both of the nuclear-armed rivals routinely blame the other for starting any firing and insist they are only retaliating.
Indian villagers run to safety as they react to sound of firing from the Pakistan side of the border at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
As in the past, both also called the violence an unprovoked violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement and summoned each other's senior diplomats in their capitals to register their anger and protest. They also issued statements condemning the violence.
Officials say the latest violence has sent tens of thousands of villagers fleeing from their homes in hundreds of affected villages along the border to government buildings converted into temporary shelters or to the houses of friends and relatives living in safer places.
Hundreds of houses have been destroyed and bullets and shrapnel have scarred homes and walls on both sides. Hundreds of cattle and livestock have also perished in the confrontation.
Indian civilian official Arun Manhas said an entire village along the frontier was destroyed in a fire caused by the shelling. He said over 100 cattle were killed in the village.
Indians walk near a wall with marks of mortar shells that landed allegedly in firing from the Pakistan side of the border at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
"Damage to the huts and cattle is huge in the village. It was a daunting task to shift over 4,000 cows and buffaloes from the village along with about 1,200 residents who are mainly milk suppliers for the vast area," Manhas said.
Most of the fighting is taking place along the portion of the frontier which is somewhat-defined and where each country has a paramilitary border force guarding the lower-altitude 200-kilometer (125-mile) boundary separating Indian-controlled Kashmir and the Pakistani province of Punjab.
But the fighting has also escalated to the contentious frontier that includes a 740-kilometer (460-mile) rugged and mountainous stretch called the Line of Control that is guarded by the armies of India and Pakistan and splits Kashmir between the two nations.
Indian villagers stand next to blood stains of Indian civilian Gopal Dass who was killed in Pakistani firing and shelling, at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Also Monday, Pakistan's powerful army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, visited the border villages of Khuiratta and Ratta Arayan, where he was briefed on "Indian cease-fire violations" which resulted into civilian and troop casualties, according to a military statement.
It said Bajwa praised Pakistani troops for responding to the Indian fire.
The statement quoted Bajwa as saying that Indian troops were unethically targeting the civilian population, and he directed the army to construct bunkers for civilians.
Meanwhile, Kashmiri separatists who challenge India's sovereignty over Kashmir called on both India and Pakistan to demonstrate "restraint and wisdom."
Relatives carry the body of Indian civilian Gopal Dass who was killed in Pakistani firing and shelling, during his cremation at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani said the two countries should "play a constructive role for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue."
"The risk of collision between the two nuclear powers will be devastating not only for the region, but for the whole world," he said.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing claims to the region. Since 1947, they have each administered part of it.
Daughter, center, of Indian civilian Gopal Dass who was killed in Pakistani firing and shelling, wails at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Many see the fighting as part of what's become a predictable cycle of violence, as the region convulses with decades-old animosities between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, where rebel groups demand that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
A flare-up last year similarly sent thousands to temporary shelters for days.
Nephew of Indian civilian Gopal Dass who was killed in Pakistani firing and shelling, wails at Jhiri village in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Monday, Jan.22,2018. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training anti-India rebels and also helping them by providing gunfire as cover for incursions into the Indian side.
Pakistan staunchly denies this, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the militants and to Kashmiris who oppose Indian rule. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown since 1989.
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a van carrying Japanese nationals in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, police said. The Japanese nationals escaped unharmed but officials later said one bystander was killed.
Initially, police said the van was heading to an industrial area where the five Japanese nationals worked when it came under attack, local police chief Arshad Awan said. Police escorting the Japanese returned fire, killing a second attacker, the bomber's accomplice, he said.
“All the Japanese who were the target of the attack are safe,” Awan added.
Police had initially said the five worked at Pakistan Suzuki Motors but later corrected that statement, saying it was another factory.
Images on local news channels showed a damaged van as police officers arrived at the scene. The three passersby who were wounded in the attack were taken to the hospital, where one later died. The two others were said to be in stable condition.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack in separate statements, praised police for their quick response and vowed to eliminate terrorism. They also offered prayers for the casualties.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed the Japanese nationals were unhurt and said it “strongly condemns this heinous act of terrorism. All necessary measures will be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Pakistan remains committed to ensuring the safety of foreign nationals residing in the country," the ministry said.
The ministry said two Pakistani nationals were killed in Friday's attack, which contradicted the statements from police and hospital officials who said one of the three wounded died. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.
The van was given a police escort following reports of possible attacks targeting foreigners working in Pakistan on various Chinese-funded and other projects, said Tariq Mastoi, a senior police officer. He said a timely and quick response from the guards and police foiled the attack and both attackers were killed.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on separatists or the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks on security forces in recent years.
Insurgents have also targeted Chinese working in Pakistan on projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which includes a multitude of megaprojects such as road construction, power plants and agriculture.
In March, five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed when a suicide bomber in northwestern Pakistan rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle when they were heading to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, where they worked.
Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is the capital of southern Sindh province.
Separately, an Afghan Taliban religious scholar, Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, was killed on Thursday by gunmen inside a mosque in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, a local police officer Akram Ullah said.
No one claimed responsibility for that attack.
Chief Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday denounced the killing of Akhundzada, saying he taught at a jihadi seminary in Afghanistan's Kandahar province and was a member of the Taliban oversight committee of Islamic scholars.
Many Afghan leaders and scholars lived in Quetta and elsewhere in Pakistan before the Afghan Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew. Most then went back and it was unclear why Akhundzada was still in Pakistan.
Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar contributed to this story from Quetta, Pakistan.
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Pakistani investigators examine the body of an attacker at the scene of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Several Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pakistani investigators take picture of the body of attacker at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped the attack Friday that wounded three bystanders in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, police said.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A Pakistani police officer stands guard as investigators examine the scene of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped the attack Friday that wounded some bystanders in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, police said.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pakistani investigators examine a damaged van at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped the attack Friday that wounded three bystanders in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pakistani investigators examine the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped the attack Friday that wounded three bystanders in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - Police officers stand guard at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - Pakistani investigators examine a damaged van at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - Police officers examine a van at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - Police officers stand guard at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - A police officer stands guard at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
CORRECTS DATE - Pakistani investigators examine a damaged van at the site of a suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Police officers examine a van at the site of suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 20, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Police officers stand guard at the site of suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 20, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Police officers stand guard at the site of suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 20, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A police officer stands guard at the site of suicide attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, April 20, 2024. Five Japanese nationals traveling in a van narrowly escaped a suicide attack when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near their vehicle in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, wounding three passers-by, police said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
