Fresh clashes in the disputed Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani border forces left several people dead on Tuesday.

There were conflicting reports from Pakistan and India regarding the number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding their deaths in the exchanges of fire.

Read more: India and Pakistan's troubled history

Skirmishes amid heightened tensions

Pakistan reported three civilians died in Indian gunfire and said its forces killed six Indian soldiers.

The Press Trust of India quoted officials as saying one Indian soldier died and four were wounded by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control separating the disputed territory. Separately, on Wednesday a suspected militant fighting against Indian rule over Kashmir was killed in a gunbattle that also killed one policeman and wounded another.

The confrontations are the latest in a series that have killed soldiers and civilians on both sides over the past week.

Read more: Kashmir: DW reporter's first-hand account of the 'siege'

Earlier this month, India unilaterally revoked the semi-autonomous status of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and put it under a security lockdown, escalating long-simmering tensions over control of the disputed region.

People carry signs as they chant slogans to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a rally in Lahore, Pakistan.

Kashmir police reported that thousands of people, mostly young male demonstrators, have been detained in Indian-controlled Kashmir during the ongoing lockdown and communications blackout, which began more than two weeks ago.

Pakistan turns to UN's top court

Also on Tuesday, Pakistan's foreign minister announced Pakistan would bring its Kashmir dispute with India to the UN's top judicial body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Read more: Kashmir: Is the UN Security Council reluctant to get involved?

"An in-principle decision has been taken to take the issue of disputed Kashmir to the International Court of Justice," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told local media.

Qureshi said that every legal aspect of the matter was weighed before deciding to present it to the ICJ, and that the matter would be brought before the court as soon as possible, local media reported.

Partition of India: The way forward Birth of two nations In 1947, British India was divided into two countries - India and Pakistan. Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his All-India Muslim League party had first demanded autonomy for Muslim-majority areas in the undivided India, and only later a separate country for Muslims. Jinnah believed that Hindus and Muslims could not continue to live together, as they were distinctly different "nations."

Partition of India: The way forward The line of blood The partition of British India was extremely violent. Following the birth of India and Pakistan, violent communal riots began in many western areas, mostly in Punjab. Historians say that more than a million people died in clashes, and millions more migrated from Indian territory to Pakistan and from the Pakistani side to India.

Partition of India: The way forward The 1948 war India and Pakistan clashed over Kashmir soon after their independence. The Muslim-majority Kashmir region was ruled by a Hindu leader, but Jinnah wanted it to be part of Pakistani territory. Indian and Pakistani troops fought in Kashmir in 1948, with India taking control of most part of the valley, while Pakistan occupied a smaller area. India and Pakistan continue to clash over Kashmir.

Partition of India: The way forward Like US and Canada? Liberal historians say that Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi wanted cordial ties between newly independent states. Jinnah, for instance, believed that ties between India and Pakistan should be similar to those between the US and Canada. But after his death in 1948, his successors followed a collision course with New Delhi.

Partition of India: The way forward The 'other' Indian and Pakistani governments present very different accounts of the partition. While India emphasizes the Indian National Congress' freedom movement against British rulers - with Gandhi as its main architect - Pakistani textbooks focus on a "struggle" against both British and Hindu "oppression." State propaganda in both countries paints each other as an "enemy" that cannot be trusted.

Partition of India: The way forward Worsening ties Diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan have remained acrimonious for the past seven decades. The issue of Islamist terrorism has marred relations in the last few years, with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of backing Islamist jihadists to wage a war in India-administered Kashmir. India also blames Pakistan-based groups for launching terror attacks on Indian soil. Islamabad denies these claims.

Partition of India: The way forward The way forward Many young people in both India and Pakistan are urging their governments to improve bilateral ties. Islamabad-based documentary filmmaker Wajahat Malik believes the best way for India and Pakistan to develop a closer relationship is through more interaction between their peoples. "Trade and tourism are the way forward for us. When people come together, the states will follow suit," Malik told DW. Author: Shamil Shams



Firdous Ashiq Awan, special assistant to Imran Khan, said the case would center around the human rights violations and genocide in occupied Kashmir, reported local media.

Read more: Kashmir: The world's most dangerous conflict

Trump and Johnson urge restraint

In a phone call on Wednesday with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear that India and Pakistan must resolve the Kashmir dispute bilaterally. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump urged both sides to reduce tensions over the disputed region.

India and Pakistan have had a fraught relationship ever since the British divided the subcontinent into a secular but predominantly Hindu India and a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan. The 1947 partition sparked riots and violence across the region and led to one of the largest migrations in history.

mc, cw/ng (AFP, AP, dpa)

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