The Indian army says that its troops have killed a Pakistani soldier who strayed over the border in the disputed territory of Kashmir on Thursday.
He was killed in a gun battle after the Indian army opened fire when it detected “suspicious movement”, it says. Two Indian soldiers were wounded.
Last month several deadly cross-border attacks plunged the neighbours into the worst crisis in relations in years.
Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years.
Exchanges in the area are not uncommon but rarely result in fatalities.
The Indian army said the incident happened in the Nowshera sector. Pakistani army sources had also reported firing along the line of control (LoC) in the Kotli area but it is unclear if that was related.
“We detected some suspicious movement yesterday near the LoC inside our territory and the challengers from our side fired and in the ensuing firefight he was killed,” army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Rajesh Kalia is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
“At that time we did not know he was a Pakistani soldier. We killed an infiltrator,” he added.
The Pakistani army said that a soldier had lost his way and inadvertently strayed over the border. It confirmed that contact was being made with the Indian authorities for the return of the soldier’s body.
Five soldiers – three Pakistani and two Indian – were killed in last month’s hostile exchanges between troops stationed along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed region.
Relations between the sides deteriorated so sharply that there were fears that a fledgling peace process under way since February last year could unravel.
Tentative steps had been made towards restoring relations after the Mumbai attacks of 2008, which were blamed on militants based in Pakistan.
Although both sides denied provoking the clashes along the border, eventually both India and Pakistan agreed to de-escalate tensions on 16 January.
Cross-border trade and transport links, which had been suspended for a few weeks in the wake of the tensions, also recently resumed.
Thousands of people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir since an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in 1989. There has been a ceasefire in place since late 2003.
Late last year, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to ease visa restrictions on travel for some citizens.
