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DATE=1/22/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAK / INDIA CLASH (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258322
BYLINE=SCOTT ANGER
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Pakistan says two of it soldiers have been 
killed and five are missing after an intense battle 
with Indian troops in the disputed region of Kashmir.  
As correspondent Scott Anger reports from Islamabad, 
the attack comes amid rising tensions between the 
uneasy neighbors.
TEXT:  A clash between the Indian and Pakistani troops 
has occurred along the southern part of the "Line of 
Control," a cease-fire line that divides Kashmir 
between the two countries.  Pakistan says it has 
succeeded in repelling an Indian attack aimed at one 
of its border posts.
Pakistan's military spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, says 
there had been an intense, concentrated amount of 
artillery and mortar fire aimed at the post before the 
clash.
            /// Qureshi Act ///
      It is an absolutely well-conceived, pre-planned 
      offensive action taken by the Indians.  
      Pakistani troops, at no stage, crossed the line 
      of control.
            /// End Act ///
Indian and Pakistan have fought two wars over the 
region and came close to a third last summer when 
Indian troops battled Pakistan-backed insurgents in 
Kashmir's Kargil region.  The crisis was diffused 
after Pakistan used its influence to force the armed 
insurgents to withdraw from the Indian side of the 
Line of Control.
Since then, daily artillery duels have continued, 
killing a number of civilians on both side of the 
border.
Tensions have remained high as India routinely accuses 
Pakistan of arming and funding a decade-long armed 
Muslim insurgency in Kashmir.  Islamic separatists say 
they want to establish a separate nation or merge with 
Muslim-dominated Pakistan.  Pakistan denies the Indian 
charge and says it only provides moral, diplomatic and 
political support to the separatist movement.
India controls two-thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan the 
rest.
Islamabad says it will lodge a protest with the Indian 
government and the United Nations over the latest 
clash, which is the most serious ground confrontation 
between the countries since the Kargil fighting.  
Pakistan says it will continue to use restraint but 
warns it will exercise its right to self-defense.  
(SIGNED)
NEB/SA 
22-Jan-2000 09:19 AM EDT (22-Jan-2000 1419 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.