India, Pakistan troops trade fire in Kashmir

NEW DELHI — Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire overnight across the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir, officials said on Friday, even as the United Nations urged the nuclear-armed rivals to show "maximum restraint" following a deadly shooting in the region.

Syed Ashfaq Gilani, a government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told Agence France-Presse on Friday that troops exchanged fire along the Line of Control that separates the two countries.

"There was no firing on the civilian population," he added.

India's army confirmed there had been limited firing of small arms that it said had been "initiated by Pakistan", adding it had been "effectively responded to".

Three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers used small arms to fire at an Indian position in Kashmir late on Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

In Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday declined to confirm or deny the report.

The report of the gunfight comes amid soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after unknown gunmen killed 26 people near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. India immediately described the massacre as a "terror attack" and said it had "cross border" links, blaming Pakistan for backing it.

Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, the responsibility for which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the The Resistance Front.

On Thursday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York that issues between the countries "can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement".

"We very much appeal to both the governments … to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we've seen do not deteriorate any further," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to hunt down the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians.

"India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer," Modi said in his first speech since Tuesday's attack.

The Senate of Pakistan on Friday unanimously passed a resolution, rejecting "Indian allegations" of linking Pakistan to the attack.

Condemning the accusations as "frivolous and baseless", the upper house of the Pakistani Parliament stated that the country is fully capable of and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting of the National Security Committee on Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. The committee expressed concern over the loss of tourists' lives in the incident, saying Pakistan unequivocally condemns all kinds of terrorism.

On Wednesday, the Indian government announced several measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, border closure and the expulsion of Pakistani personnel.

India's Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday that it would suspend all categories of visas for Pakistani nationals starting immediately, and advised Indian citizens against traveling to Pakistan.

In response, Pakistan will close down the Attari-Wagah Border Post, suspend certain visa facilities for Indian nationals, declare the Indian defense, naval and air advisers in Islamabad persona non grata, close Pakistan's airspace for all Indian airlines, and suspend all trade activities with India, the statement said.

AGENCIES — XINHUA