India evacuates villages along Pakistan frontier after Kashmir strikes

Pakistan and India exchanged fresh fire across the Kashmir border Saturday, the Pakistani military said, with Indian officials stating there was no damage as tensions rise between the nuclear-armed rivals. India on Friday continued to evacuate people from villages near the de facto border with Pakistan in northern Punjab state a day after launching "surgical strikes" on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-ruled Kashmir. The evacuation started on Thursday hours after an exchange of fire at the frontier. Residents of Gurdaspur district took the river route via the river Ravi as they left their homes to move to safer places. A temporary bridge is also being constructed over the river to enable movement on foot. The strikes were the first direct military response to an attack on an army base India blames on Pakistan, and raised the possibility of military escalation between the neighbours that could wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire. Pakistan said two of its soldiers were killed in exchanges of fire, but denied India had made any targeted strikes.