Ten civilians killed as India, Pakistan trade border fire

Six died near the city of Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab province and at least four villagers were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir. Officials said more than 50 were wounded.

At least 10 civilians were killed on Friday as India and Pakistan traded fire across their disputed border, officials said, less than a week after high-level talks were aborted amid a row over Kashmir.
Six died near the city of Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab province and at least four villagers were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir. Officials said more than 50 were wounded.
A meeting between the Indian and Pakistani national security advisors in New Delhi on Sunday was called off at the last minute amid a dispute about whether the agenda should include Kashmir, the Himalayan territory both sides control in part but claim in full.
A senior Pakistani security official told AFP that Indian forces began firing around 3:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday) and continued intermittently during the morning.
In Indian-adminstered Kashmir, Border Security Force (BSF) official Rakesh Kumar Sharma accused Pakistan of "unprovoked" mortar fire.
"Four villagers died in the shelling from across the border, three of them were killed early morning and one died of injuries in a hospital later," Pawan Kotwal, the top administrator of the region told AFP.
Another BSF officer, J.S.Oberio, put the number of injured at 16, saying at least 10 border posts and several villages were targeted by Pakistani troops.
Sunday's talks had brought hopes of a possible easing of tensions, but these were dashed as the meeting was sunk amid a welter of angry rhetoric on Saturday.
The plan for Sunday's talks came from a meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at a regional summit in Russia last month.
Little of substance was expected but the very fact that the security advisors, Sartaj Aziz for Pakistan and Ajit Doval for India, were to meet at all was seen as progress.
But the plan faltered at familiar obstacles: Aziz's intention to meet Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi - an issue that scuppered foreign secretary-level talks last year - and India's insistence the agenda should focus on terrorism.

• India
• Pakistan