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SRINAGAR - India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of killing two of its soldiers in an attack and mutilating one of the bodies along the tense disputed border between the nuclear-armed neighbours. In his remarks that may harm an already fragile peace process, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid bluntly said India would deliver a “proportionate response” to the killings in Kashmir. The Pakistan Army denied launching an unprovoked attack as claimed by India. A Pakistan Army spokesman, in a message, said, “Pakistan military officials deny Indian allegation of unprovoked firing.” He said the Indian account was propaganda to divert the attention of the world from Sunday’s raid on a Pakistani post. One Pakistani soldier was killed in the attack. India said its two soldiers died after a firefight broke out around noon as a patrol moving in foggy conditions discovered Pakistani troops about half a kilometre inside Indian territory, an Indian army spokesman said. “There was a firefight with Pakistani troops,” army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told a news agency from the mountainous Himalayan region, confirming the names of the men as sergeants Hemraj Singh and Sudhakar Singh. “We lost two soldiers and one of them has been badly mutilated,” he added, declining to give more details on the injuries.“The intruders were regular (Pakistani) soldiers and they were 400-500 metres inside our territory,” he said of the clash in Mendhar sector, 173 kilometres west by road from the city of Jammu. Speaking on Indian television, Indian Foreign Minister Khurshid described the killings as “inhumane” and “not the way civilised people deal with each other”. “We need to do something about this and we will, but it has to be done after careful consideration of all the details in consultation with the defence ministry,” Khurshid told the NDTV news channel.“It is absolutely unacceptable, ghastly, and really, really terrible and extremely short-sighted by their part,” he added, promising that the response would be “proportionate”.“This seems like a clear attempt to derail the dialogue,” he added. “We have to find ways in which the dialogue is not sabotaged or destroyed.” Relations between the neighbours had been slowly improving over the last few years following a rupture in their slow-moving peace process after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which were blamed by India on Pakistan-based militants.The Pakistan Army says Indian troops crossed the Line of Control on Sunday and stormed a military post in an attack that left one Pakistani soldier dead and another injured. It lodged a formal protest with India on Monday. India denied crossing the line, but a foreign ministry spokesman said Indian troops had undertaken “controlled retaliation” on Sunday after “unprovoked firing” that damaged a civilian home. The deaths deal a serious blow to efforts to ease tension in South Asia and improve diplomatic relations. Steps such as opening up trade and offering more lenient visa regimes have been a feature of recent high-level talks.India’s cable news channels widely reported the latest deaths and alleged mutilation under headlines reading “Pak’s Open Aggression”, “Pakistan’s Barbarism”, and “Kargil-type stunt”.The last major mobilisation of Indian troops to its border with Pakistan took place in 2001 after an attack on the parliament in New Delhi by five militants.Rajesh K Kalia, spokesman for the Indian army, claimed Tuesday’s ‘intrusion’ was “a significant escalation ... of ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts supported by Pakistan Army”.“Pakistan army troops, having taken advantage of thick fog and mist in the forested area, were moving towards (their) own posts when an alert area domination patrol spotted and engaged them,” he alleged.“The firefight between Pakistan and own troops continued for approximately half an hour, after which the intruders retreated back towards their side of Line of Control.”The firefight broke out at about noon on Tuesday (0630 GMT), Indian army spokesman said declining to give more details on the injuries.The Indian army spokesman in Kashmir, RK Palta, declined to comment on the incident.In yet another account, some Indian officials claimed that Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC Tuesday and slit the throats of two Indian soldiers at a post in Held Kashmir.Poonch Deputy Commissioner AK Sahu asserted that “Pakistanis raided a post in Sona Gali area. They (Pakistani soldiers) slit the throats of two army soldiers”. In his view the 29 Baloch regiment was involved in the attack.Going further, the Indian army sources alleged that the raiding Pakistani troops took away weapons of the dead Indian soldiers from 13 Rajputana Rifles.The US has voiced concern after Sunday’s clash across the Line of Control and urged the two countries to end exchange of fire. “We have supported attempts between India and Pakistan to find a positive way forward between them and to work on the issue of Kashmir,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland had said.
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