NEW DELHI (AFP) – Tensions between India and Pakistan raged Saturday as heavy firing by their armies killed at least seven people on either side of their fiercely disputed Kashmir border.
The nuclear-armed rivals fired mortars and artillery at each other despite the release of an Indian pilot who had been shot down by Pakistan but then sent back as a “goodwill gesture.”
In a fearsome 24-hour spell, two soldiers and two civilians died on the Pakistan side, its military said. On the Indian side, a woman and her two children died after their house was pulverized by a mortar shell.
Indian army chief Bipin Rawat dashed to Udhampur in his country’s sector of Kashmir on Saturday to review border security.
Across the region, villagers huddled in makeshift bunkers while police ordered non-essential traffic off roads, an AFP reporter said.
At least 12 civilians have been killed on either side of the frontier since the start of the week.
The release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to Indian authorities late Friday following 60 hours in Pakistani custody boosted hopes of a de-escalation.
But a furious backlash erupted in India over a video in which Abhinandan can be seen praising his captors and criticizing Indian media.
Abhinandan was shot down in his MiG fighter Wednesday as he chased Pakistani jets over disputed Kashmir. His capture had become the centerpiece of hostilities between the arch-rivals after a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
Abhinandan, who ejected to safety but was set upon by a crowd on the Pakistani side of the Kashmir ceasefire line, had a noticeable black eye when he returned and was immediately taken for a medical checkup before a debriefing by military and intelligence agencies.
Media reports said Abhinandan’s return was held up because he was forced to make the video before being freed.
In the heavily edited video distributed by the Pakistani military just before his release, he praised the professionalism of the Pakistani army and criticized Indian media for creating war hysteria.
Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, said the video tainted Pakistan’s gesture to return the pilot so quickly.