Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol by boat on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir, on Friday after 26 people were killed by gunmen who opened fire on a group of tourists in the popular destination of Pahalgam on Tuesday. Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA-EFE
April 26 (UPI) — Gunfire exchanges between Pakistani and Indian military forces continued for a second day on Saturday across the Kashmir border between the two nations.
Indian military officials reported Pakistani forces fired across a cease-fire line at several locations with no provocation and without causing any casualties, The Guardian reported Saturday.
Indian forces returned fire but also did not inflict any casualties, Al Jazeera reported.
The gunfire exchanges occurred after several gunmen killed 26 tourists when they emerged from wooded areas and fired at the tourists in the Baisaran Valley tourist town of Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Tuesday.
The Pakistani-based Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack and is a subset of the Laskhar-e-Taiba terror organization.
The attackers allegedly asked those killed if they were Muslim or Hindu and shot those who said they were Hindu, The Guardian reported. All of those killed were male.
Kashmir is a contested area in northwestern India along the border with Pakistan. Both nations claim sovereignty over the region, which has a mostly Muslim population.
Pahalgam is a popular tourist destination and is called the “Switzerland of India” due to its location near the Himalaya Mountains.
Indian officials closed the primary border crossing linking India and Pakistan on Wednesday and suspended a water-sharing agreement with Pakistan, the BBC reported.
Indian officials also expelled Pakistani diplomats and gave Pakistani visa holders 48 hours to leave the country.
India blames Pakistan for the attack and previously accused Pakistani officials of supporting armed groups, including the Resistance Front and its parent organization.
Pakistani officials deny the accusation and have said they are “fully prepared to cooperate with any neutral investigators” regarding the Pahalgam attack.
Pakistan responded to its diplomats being expelled from India by expelling Indian diplomats, canceling visas held by Indians and closing its airspace to Indian aircraft.
Pakistani officials also suspended the 1972 Shimla accord that enables dialogue between the leaders of both nations.