Pakistan denies its troops killed Indian soldiers

ISLAMABAD - Agence France-Presse

Indian army soldiers patrol near the line of control, the line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, after a reported cease-fire violation, in Mendhar, Poonch district, about 210 kilometers (131 miles) from Jammu, India, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. AP photo

Pakistan on Wednesday denied an Indian claim that its troops killed two Indian soldiers in a cross-border attack that has raised tensions in South Asia, a military official said.
 
It was the first official reaction from Pakistan after India summoned Islamabad's envoy to New Delhi to protest at the killing of the two soldiers, one of whom was reportedly beheaded.
 
The Indian army says the soldiers died after a firefight erupted in disputed Kashmir around noon Tuesday as a patrol moving in fog discovered Pakistani troops about 500 metres (yards) inside Indian territory.
 
But the Pakistani senior official said Pakistan's director general of military operations had spoken to his Indian counterpart by telephone to deny that his troops were responsible.
 
"Pakistan rejected Indian army allegations of cross LoC (Line of Control) firing by Pakistani troops and killing any Indian soldier," the official said in a statement.
 
"Indian authorities were informed that Pakistan has carried out ground verification and checked and found nothing of this sort happened as being alleged by India," the official added.
 
He accused India of "propaganda" to divert attention from a raid on Sunday, when Islamabad said one Pakistani soldier was killed by Indian troops who raided a Pakistani post.