India summons Pakistan official to protest Poonch killings

New Delhi, Aug 6: India on Tuesday summoned Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmad Khan and lodged a strong protest over the killing of five Indian soldiers in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.

Khan was summoned by the government in the afternoon and a protest lodged, informed sources said.

Five Indian soldiers were killed and a sixth was wounded when Pakistani troops crossed the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district late Monday and ambushed an Indian army patrol.

The killings threaten to cast a shadow on India-Pakistan's resumed dialogue talks to be held later this month.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his new Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are to meet in New York in September.

IANS