A month after Indian and Pakistani troops clashed in one of the worst-ever ceasefire violations, leading to the death of two Indian soldiers and the beheading of one of them, a Pakistani soldier was shot dead after he crossed the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday. Though the body of havildar Mohammad Ikhlaq was handed over with full military honours to the Pakistan Army in Lam, 135 km from Jammu, on Friday evening, the incident drew a sharp response from Pakistan.

Foreign office spokesperson Moazzam Khan said the killing had the potential to “further vitiate the atmosphere” and urged the Indian government to carry out a thorough probe into the incident and “ensure that such things do not recur”.

In Delhi, Indian Army spokesperson Col J Dahiya shared details of the incident. “On Thursday, around 1500 hours, some movement was seen along the LoC in Naushera. On being challenged, the intruder fired at the Indian patrol. In the ensuing fight, the intruder in combat uniform was killed and one AK-47 has been recovered from him.”

Two Indian soldiers were also injured in the gunfight. Soon after, Pakistan fired heavily on the Indian posts.

Pakistan claims its soldier had accidentally got into the Indian territory.

On Friday, Pakistani Director General of Military Operations called his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia and confirmed that the intruder was a Pakistani soldier. He also requested for the body to be returned to the Pakistani side with full military respects, the Army spokesman said.