Civilians, Troops Killed as Pakistan, India Do Battle

At least 15 people were killed on the Pakistan-India border in the disputed Kashmir region on Friday, as troops on both sides opened fire on each other, engaging in the deadliest day of battles in months and blaming the opposing military for initiating the skirmish. Ten of the 15 dead were civilians, including an 8-year-old child, along with dozens more injured in the villages on either side of the border, as heavy mortar shelling was used throughout the day. Earlier this month, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan caused a stir after promising to award provincial status to part of the heavily disputed territory. Khan’s plans to apply some form of Pakistani law to a sliver of war-torn Kashmir drew an immediate – and expected – condemnation from neighboring India, which claims the entire area for itself and has fought two deadly wars over it with Pakistan since the partition of 1947. Pakistan’s latest move is widely seen as retaliation for last year’s aggressive Indian actions in Kashmir, when nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked some of the territory’s privileges, sent in hundreds of troops and blocked any press coverage in the region for weeks.