India and Pakistan trade accusations over 'Kashmir violations'

Pakistan has accused India of stepping up breaches along the disputed border

India and Pakistan are continuing to trade accusations over alleged breaches along the disputed border in Kashmir.

On Tuesday morning, India accused Pakistan of firing on Indian posts in the Jammu region.

On Monday, Pakistan summoned India's deputy high commissioner, saying a civilian had been killed on the border.

It is the latest in a series of accusations and counter-accusations, with each side blaming the other for violations of the 2003 ceasefire.

Last week, India accused the Pakistani army of killing five of its soldiers - something Pakistan denies.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Islamabad says that the bad-tempered mutual accusations have called into question the possibility of the two countries' prime ministers meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next month.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon landed in Pakistan on Monday for talks with the prime minister and president on disaster management as the monsoon season get under way.

But his spokesman said that Mr Ban urges both India and Pakistan to resolve the latest flare-up in hostilities peacefully.

Volatile border

Pakistani troops fired on Indian posts in the Ramgarh sector, in Samba district, early on Tuesday morning, Indian media reports said.

Firing was also reported on Indian posts in Poonch district on Monday night, they added.

On Monday, Pakistan said that a male Pakistani civilian was killed when India fired on the common border early on Monday.

India offered a different version of events, saying that soldiers responded to shelling but that no injuries were reported from the Indian side, Reuters reports.

Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it was imperative to restore the ceasefire on the disputed Kashmir border following the violence.

The diplomatic tension has been accompanied by disturbances within Indian-administered Kashmir, where a curfew is in force after clashes between Muslims and Hindus left three dead and 20 injured on Friday.

The violence reportedly erupted after Hindus objected to Muslims chanting anti-India slogans after prayers

Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years. The two sides agreed a ceasefire along the Line of Control in November 2003.

But both have blamed each other for occasional cross-border firing which has resulted in several soldiers and civilians being killed or wounded.

Thousands of people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir since an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in 1989.