JAMMU, India (AP) – From sand-filled Indian army bunkers dug deep in the Pir Panjal mountains in the Himalayas, villages on the Pakistani-controlled side of Kashmir seem precariously close, across the Line of Control that in the past 73 years has divided the region between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from India and Pakistan are stationed along both sides. The apparent calm is often broken by the roar of guns on fire, with each side accusing the other of starting the shot.
The terrain is difficult and the lives of civilians living in the area are even more difficult, with them often caught in the line of fire. In the past year, troops on both sides exchanged fire almost daily along the border, leaving dozens of civilians and soldiers dead.
AP journalists were recently allowed to cover Indian army counterinsurgency exercises in the Poonch and Rajouri districts along the Line of Control. The training focused on tactical exercises, battle exercises, shooting practice, counter-insurgency operations and acclimatizing soldiers to adverse weather conditions.
In winter, when mountain passes are blocked by snow, Indian troops go into bunkers and make long-range patrols to maintain a strict vigil along the border.
In some places in Rajouri, local militias called Village Defense Committees have been formed to help the Indian army keep a close watch.
The two sides have fought two wars over the territory. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents fighting for independence from Kashmir controlled by India or for unification with Pakistan. Pakistan denies the charge and says it only offers diplomatic and moral support to the rebels.
Relations have been even more strained since last August, when predominantly Hindu India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the Muslim-majority region and divided it into territories governed by the federal government of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, generating anger on both sides of the border.