Nuclear neighbors exchange fire in Kashmir

Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged fire on Saturday in the disputed Kashmir region in a rare clash between the two nuclear powers amid mounting tension over Pakistan’s alleged role in the Mumbai attacks.

The Pakistani military said Indian forces resorted to "unprovoked firing" on Pakistani positions but there were no casualties.

"The firing started from the Indian side at around 10 p.m. (1700 GMT on Friday) and intermittent firing continued for several hours," said a Pakistani military official who declined to be identified.

A "strong protest" had been lodged with India, the military said. There was no immediate Indian response.

The two countries, which have fought three wars since 1947 and nearly went to war a fourth time in 2002, agreed to a ceasefire in Kashmir in 2003, paving the way to peace talks and better relations beginning in 2004.

Exchanges of fire across a line separating the two sides in Kashmir have been rare since then.

Mumbai attacks

Meanwhile, India's government said it has "overwhelming evidence" that "official agencies" of Pakistan were involved in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008 that left 165 people dead.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram also accused Pakistan in a TV interview to be aired Sunday of doing nothing to dismantle "the infrastructure of terrorism" on its soil amid ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

"Given the overwhelming evidence we have, I am entitled to presume that official agencies (of Pakistan) were involved (in the attacks)," he said, referring to Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency and other bodies.

Chidambaram added that the threat faced by India from Pakistan-based Islamist fighters remained virtually undiminished.

Given the overwhelming evidence we have, I am entitled to presume that official agencies of Pakistan were involved in the attacks

P. Chidambaram, India Home Minister

His comments came as security has emerged as a top issue in general elections to be held from April 16 to May 13.

They were the latest in a stream of Indian government criticism of Pakistan since the Mumbai attacks, reflecting what analysts say is New Delhi's anger over what it regards as Islamabad's laxness in taking strong action against the planners.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in January that the Mumbai attacks must have had the "support of some official agencies in Pakistan" due to the sophistication of the assault.

Pakistan denied any link between any state agency and the Mumbai attackers and is investigating the assault on the city.

Indian media have been reporting that senior politicians, including Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, could be on a hit-list of Pakistan-based militant groups.