Pakistan has accused India of hampering its military operation against militants by escalating tensions along the Kashmir border.
Indian and Pakistani troops traded fire along their tense border on Monday, killing four civilians including a teenage boy and a soldier, the latest in a series of deadly clashes.
"The People of Pakistan see the escalation of tension by India on the Line of Control and Working Boundary, through continuous unprovoked firing and targeting of civilians, as an attempt to distract our armed forces from its valiant mission against all terrorists," foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Pakistani military launched a major offensive against militant hideouts in the northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan in June and says it has killed more than 1700 militants so far, while 126 soldiers have lost their lives.
Aslam said that India was also trying to create a wedge between Pakistan and Afghanistan by creating "misunderstanding", echoing a commonly traded accusation that each other is using proxy forces to try to gain influence in that country.
Tensions between South Asia's arch rivals escalated last week when an Indian border guard and two Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed during exchanges of heavy fire.
Recent exchanges of fire across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC) have killed more than two dozen civilians and forced thousands to flee their homes on both sides.
Pakistan and India, who have fought two wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, have traded blame for the upsurge in firing and shelling which started on October 6 last year.
Share
