India - Pakistan shelled each other, 7 people died

Indian soldiers in Kashmir on March 2. Photo:AFP

India and Pakistan exchanged mortar and artillery fire in the disputed Kashmir region on March 2, although tensions between the two sides cooled after Pakistan released an Indian pilot shot down a day earlier, according toAFP.

Two soldiers and two civilians died on the Pakistani side. In India, a woman and two children died after their house was destroyed by mortar fire.

Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat arrived in Udhampur, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on March 2 to review border security. Kashmir is a disputed region between India, Pakistan and China. India controls about 43% of the region, Pakistan about 37% while China controls 20%.

Villagers at the border take shelter in bunkers. Police ask people not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.

Areas controlled by both sides in Kashmir. Graphics: CNN

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after the Indian Air Force on the morning of February 26 carried out an airstrike on what was believed to be a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp across the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region.

Jaish-e-Mohammed is the Islamist group responsible for the February 14 suicide bombing in the city of Srinagar that killed 44 Indian soldiers.

On February 27, Pakistan said it shot down two Indian planes, one of which fell in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir while the other fell on the Indian side.

They captured a pilot named Abhinandan Varthaman. India confirmed they lost one plane and claimed to have shot down a Pakistani fighter.

On March 1, Pakistan released the Indian pilot. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Varthaman was treated in accordance with international law and his release was a "gesture of peace".