Pakistan, India defuse tension

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and India have agreed to stop trading artillery fire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and on Wednesday the situation was calm after months of routine skirmishes that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians.

Pakistan’s military said late Tuesday that local generals reached the understanding using a special hotline set up to defuse tensions in Kashmir, which is split between Indian and Pakistani zones of control. Both nuclear-armed powers claim Kashmir in its entirety, and the territorial dispute has ignited two wars between Pakistan and India since they gained independence in 1947.

Both sides “agreed to undertake sincere measures to improve the existing situation, ensuring peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders,” the Pakistani military said in a statement.

It said that if future violence occurs in the disputed region, “restraint will be exercised and the matter will be resolved through utilization of existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commander’s level.”

The Indian army confirmed the agreement, saying both sides had pledged to “undertake sincere measures to improve the existing situation to ensure peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders.”

The two sides also agreed to fully implement a 2003 cease-fire that has been repeatedly violated.

Tensions have soared in recent weeks, as both sides have launched artillery assaults across the Line of Control dividing the region. Each side has accused the other of starting the hostilities in violation of the 2003 accord.

Residents on both sides of the Line of Control expressed hope the peace would hold.