India Accuses Pakistan Army of Killing Five Troops

India Thursday directly accused Pakistan's army of involvement in a deadly ambush against its troops in Kashmir, as Pakistan's prime minister tried to ease tensions over the attack.

Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony also hinted at stronger military action along the Line of Control (LoC) where the ambush overnight Monday saw five Indian soldiers killed, amid opposition claims the government was going soft on Islamabad.

"It is now clear that the specialist troops of Pakistan army were involved in this attack," Antony told parliament.

"Nothing happens from Pakistan's side of the LoC without the support, assistance, facilitation and often direct involvement of the Pakistan army," he said.

Antony's strongly worded statement comes after the opposition accused the minister of deliberately choosing not to blame the Pakistani army for the attack, amid attempts to revive peace talks and other efforts to improve relations with Pakistan.

The picturesque Himalayan territory of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by the U.N.-monitored LoC, the de facto border, but is claimed in full by both countries.

"Naturally, this incident will have consequences on our behavior on the LoC and for our relationship with Pakistan," Antony said.

"Our restraint should not be taken for granted, nor the capacity of our armed forces and resolve of the government to afford the sanctity of the LoC ever be doubted."

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried to ease tensions with India by urging both sides to work swiftly to shore up a 10-year ceasefire threatened by the recent attacks.

Sharif, who was elected in May and who backs rapprochement with India, said he was looking forward to meeting his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September.

Sharif expressed his sadness over the loss of life and said it was "imperative" for India and Pakistan to take "effective steps to ensure and restore" the truce.

He said existing military channels could be more "optimally utilized" to prevent the situation from escalating further.

But in a fresh allegation of their own Thursday, Pakistani military officials accused Indian troops of opening fire and seriously wounding a male civilian in the Tatta Pani sector along the LoC.

While Indian military sources had said Tuesday that Pakistani troops were behind the deadly ambush, Antony would only say in a statement the same day that it was carried out by men wearing Pakistani uniforms.

Following the ambush, the opposition piled pressure on the government to postpone low-level peace talks which were expected to resume soon. The killings and the government's response have made frontpage news in India.

Thursday's headline in the Times of India daily read "Under fire for letting Pak off the hook, govt to rejig position".

With elections due by May 2014, analysts have said the government cannot afford to look soft on Pakistan.

Pakistan has denied any part in the incident, but India has lodged an official protest with Islamabad for what is one of the worst losses of life for the Indian army since a 2003 truce agreement.

Antony said he made his initial comments based on the best available information, and that his statement Thursday came after receiving the latest briefing from Army Chief General Bikram Singh.

The uproar has paralyzed parliament, which only resumed on Monday after a long break, as the government attempts to drive through stalled economic reforms before the elections.

A senior leader of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the minister's statement.

"The whole house supports Antony's statement. This sends a strong message to Pakistan that they can't take us for granted," Sushma Swaraj told parliament.

The bodies of the five soldiers were cremated with state honors in their local villages, in the presence of army officers and thousands of mourners, local media reports said.

India has fought three wars with Pakistan, two over the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

A deadly flare-up along the LoC in January brought peace talks to a halt. They had only just resumed after a three-year hiatus sparked by the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. India blamed Pakistani militants for the attack.

More than a dozen armed rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989, demanding independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.