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India kills Pakistani nationals near Punjab border, tensions simmer
Pakistan says the two were unarmed civilians who crossed a border pillar, while Indian media reports they were suspected of trying to enter India.
India kills Pakistani nationals near Punjab border, tensions simmer
(FILE) This latest incident further raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. / AP

Indian border guards have shot and killed two Pakistani nationals near the border in Punjab province, Pakistani and Indian media reported.

This latest incident further raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan Television, citing security sources, said on Friday three unarmed civilians from Kasur district in eastern Pakistan had walked a few steps beyond a border pillar when India's Border Security Force opened fire.

Two were killed and a third wounded, it said.

"Pakistani security sources further said that none of the three individuals had attempted to cross the border fence. They said the incident constitutes a blatant violation of the border agreement and the standard operating procedures governing the Pakistan-India international border,” according to a report by Pakistan state radio.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

Indian media reported a conflicting account, saying the men were suspected of trying to enter India.

The shooting came a day after Pakistan's military disputed India's claim that its forces had killed a senior rebel commander in Indian-administered Kashmir, presenting a man to the media whom India and its news channels had identified as the slain fighter.

Pakistani Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry dismissed the Indian account as fabricated during a televised news conference on Thursday.

Both Pakistan and India have a province called Punjab, with the two regions sharing a border.

While India and Pakistan have frequently exchanged fire across Kashmir in recent years, the international border in Punjab has remained largely peaceful.

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Pakistan and India have a history of strained relations and have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

India has deployed over 500,000 troops in the region since 1989, when the popular armed revolt broke out against New Delhi's rule.

Most Kashmiris support demands that their territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country in a UN-sponsored right to self-determination vote.

Between 70,000 and 100,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the armed revolt against India's rule. 

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SOURCE:AP