The fragile peace between nuclear-capable India and Pakistan is shattered every day along the 776 km-long line of control between them in northern Kashmir.
The two neighbours, who share over half a century of antagonism and three wars, regularly trade thousands of rounds of machine gun fire interspersed with artillery shells, mortars and grenades.
The slightest carelessness means certain death for thousands of soldiers guarding one of the world's "hottest" borders that cuts across steep mountains, thick jungle and rivers. Damaged bunkers, some less than 50 metres apart, are repaired surreptitiously under cover of darkness.
Stealth determines survival here as Indian and Pakistani snipers lie in wait to claim their victims.
"We are involved in a hazardous battle of wits along the LC, where one false step can be the last," said an officer in charge of the Nangi Tekri post that overlooks Pakistan-held Kashmir at a height of around 5,500 feet. It was captured by India during the 1971 war. "We operate like we would in a war zone."
Once assigned to a three-year tenure of duty to the line of control, soldiers and officers get a break from the firing only when they go on leave. During the intervening period they never venture out but scurry through a network of trenches and protective mud walls for supplies and ammunition. All communication with anyone outside a bunker is over wireless sets. The line of control came into being in 1972 after the third war between India and Pakistan. Before that it was known as the ceasefire line, following the first of three wars between the two neighbours a few months after independence in 1947. It has remained relatively unchanged since 1948, except at a few spots following two more wars in 1965 - again over Kashmir - and in 1971. Senior army officers said the LC was quiet after the 1971 war with occasional flag meetings between picket commanders and exchange of pleasantries and eatables by the soldiers on Hindu and Muslim religious festivals.
But once Kashmir's special status under the Indian constitution guaranteeing its autonomy was eroded by successive corrupt state governments and federal interference, leading to resentment and armed rebellion in 1989, the LC became "highly active" as militants from Pakistan-held Kashmir joined the insurgency. Indian military officers said Pakistani firing was a cover to infiltrate armed Islamic militants into the state to bolster their nine-year old civil war for independence. They said armed, trained and motivated Afghan, Sudanese and Pakistani mercenaries were regularly pushed across the border at dusk by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. India holds it responsible for running this "proxy war". The covering fire provided enough distraction for them to make their way to bases inside Indian-held Kashmir.
"We are tied down all the time by the influx of militants," said one officer. "We are constantly bleeding." He said the area's topography "defied" sealing the border and that even if soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder along the LC, infiltration could not be prevented.
Kashmiri militants, along with Pakistan - which controls a third of the principality and lays claim to the rest - are demanding a plebiscite supervised by the United Nations for the state's self-determination. India promised the plebiscite 50 years ago but has never held it, claiming it has been overtaken by subsequent treaties. Kashmir remains the "core" issue between the two neighbours. After its nuclear tests last year Pakistan declared it would not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) unless the dispute was "suitably" resolved.
Then Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mr Gohar Ayub Khan, said the quarrel over Kashmir could trigger a nuclear war "at any time". He added that unlike the Cold War, where no territorial disputes were involved, the Kashmir issue was an "open wound".
Pakistan has also refused India's offer of a no first nuclear strike pending a settlement over the disputed state. Fearing India's awesome military superiority, possessing weapons of mass destruction offered Pakistan parity with its larger neighbour. India, on the other hand, unilaterally declared after last year's nuclear tests that it would build a minimum nuclear deterrent, retaining only second strike nuclear capability. India and Pakistan recently signed the Lahore Declaration, which pledged to implement confidence building measures to reduce the accidental risk of a nuclear war and to intensify all efforts to resolve contentious issues, including Kashmir.
