海角大神

India听诲别苍辞耻苍肠别诲听Pakistan聽on Wednesday over a firefight in the disputed territory of聽Kashmir聽in which two Indian soldiers were killed, but the nuclear-armed rivals both appeared determined to prevent the clash escalating into a full diplomatic crisis.

India聽summoned聽Pakistan's envoy in聽New Delhi聽to lodge a "strong protest," accusing a group of Pakistani soldiers it said had crossed the heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC) in聽Kashmir聽of "barbaric and inhuman" behavior.

The body of one of the soldiers was found mutilated in a forested area on the side controlled by聽India,聽Rajesh K. Kalia, spokesman for the聽Indian Army's聽Northern Command, said. However, he denied Indian media reports that one body had been decapitated and another had its throat slit.

"Regular聽Pakistan聽troops crossed the Line of Control ... and engaged the Indian troops who were patrolling the sector,"聽India's Ministry of External Affairs聽said in a statement after聽Pakistan's high commissioner to聽Indiahad been called in.

"Two Indian soldiers were killed in the attack and their bodies subjected to barbaric and inhuman mutilation."

India's foreign minister sought to cool tensions, however, saying that exhaustive efforts to improve relations could be squandered if the situation was not contained.

"I think it is important in the long term that what has happened should not be escalated,"聽Salman Khurshid聽told a news conference. "We cannot and must not allow the escalation of any unwholesome event like this."

"We have to be careful that forces ... attempting to derail all the good work that's been done towards normalization (of relations) should not be successful," he added, without elaborating on who such forces might be.

Most serious incident in past 10 years

India聽and聽Pakistan聽have fought three wars since their independence in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of聽Kashmir, and both are now nuclear-armed powers.

Away from the border, ties had appeared to be improving of late.聽Pakistan's cricket team completed a two-week tour of聽India聽on Sunday, its first visit in five years.

Firing and small skirmishes are common along the 740-km (460-mile) LoC despite a cease-fire that was agreed in 2003.

However, incursions by troops from either side are rare.聽Retired Indian army聽Brigadier聽Gurmeet Kanwal, who previously commanded a brigade on the LoC, said Tuesday's incident - about 600 metres from the de facto border - marked the most serious infiltration since the cease-fire was put in place.

Indian army聽officials said cross-border firing broke out hours after the clash but, on Wednesday, the LoC was quiet.

Naveed Chand, a shopkeeper in Chatar village just 2 km from the LoC on the Pakistani side told Reuters by telephone that there had been a pick-up in cross-border firing recently, unusual movements of army trucks and reinforcement of bunkers.

"We think something is up. People in the area are very alarmed," he said.

It was not possible to independently verify events in the remote area, which is closed to journalists on both sides.

Pakistan's foreign ministry denied聽India's allegations of an incursion as "baseless and unfounded" and said in a statement that it was prepared for an investigation by a U.N. military observer group into recent cease-fire violations.

Like聽New Delhi, it stressed the need to pursue better relations, adding: "Pakistan聽is committed to a constructive, sustained, and result-oriented process of engagement with聽India."

笔谤辞辫补驳补苍诲补听

Nevertheless, a聽Pakistani Army聽spokesman described聽India's charges as "propaganda" aimed at diverting attention away from an Indian incursion two days earlier in which one Pakistani soldier was killed.聽India聽denies that its troops crossed over the line during last weekend's incident.

Mushahid Hussain, a Pakistani senator and member of the聽Parliamentary Committee on National Security, said the Indian government 鈥� dogged by corruption scandals and facing a tough election as early as this year 鈥� was returning to "the war-like language of the past" for domestic political reasons.

"Pakistan聽has its hands full with a full-blown insurgency inside its borders. It doesn't suit Pakistani interests at all to raise the temperature along the LoC," Hussain said.

There was little coverage of the skirmish in Pakistani media, but a succession of commentators voiced fury on Indian news channels and the main opposition party urged the government to expose聽Pakistan's actions to the international community.

"Pakistan聽can be named and shamed for this brutal attack,"聽Bharatiya Janata Party听濒别补诲别谤听Arun Jaitley聽told reporters.

India聽considers the entire聽Kashmir聽region of snow-capped mountains and fertile valleys an integral part of its territory. Muslim聽Pakistan聽contests that and demands implementation of a 1948 UN Security Council resolution for a plebiscite to determine the wishes of the mostly Muslim people of聽Kashmir.

Some commentators drew parallels between Tuesday's clash and a conflict in 1999 when聽Pakistan-backed Islamist infiltrators occupied the heights in Kargil, in the north of Indian聽Kashmir.聽India聽lost hundreds of troops before re-occupying the mountains after fighting that almost triggered a fourth war.

"India's response will be measured but, as a former soldier, I do not rule out a measured military response to teach them a lesson," said retired Brigadier Kanwal. "You cannot tinker with bodies."

(Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Katharine Houreld in ISLAMABAD and by Sanjeev Miglani, Arup Roychoudhury and Satarupa Bhattacharjya in聽NEW DELHI; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Robert Birsel)