Kashmir
India and Pakistan have disputed the Himalayan territory since independence in 1947.

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — India’s army on Tuesday said it bombed Pakistani army posts along the de facto border dividing the two countries in Kashmir.

Army spokesman Ashok Narula said the action had been taken to stop Pakistan’s army from helping militants cross into Indian-administered Kashmir. Speaking to reporters, Narula said that bringing down the number of militants in Kashmir would discourage local youths from taking up arms.

Officials from Islamabad denied any of its posts had been destroyed by the alleged bombings.

The Indian army spokesperson did not specify when the bombings had taken place, only saying that they were “recent, very recent.”

Footage from the Indian army purported to show the destruction of a Pakistani army post in the Nowshera sector, near the Line of Control dividing the disputed territory. Pakistan’s army spokesman responded swiftly, rejecting India’s account.

“The Indian claims of destroying Pakistani post along LoC in Nowshera Sec and firing by Pak Army on civilians across LoC are false,” Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said.

The claims from India come amid an ever-deteriorating state of relations between the two countries over Kashmir and other matters. Indian-administered Kashmir has seen an upsurge of violence over the last few months. India blames Pakistan for inciting the unrest, a claim Islamabad denies.

India’s Hindu nationalist BJP government has adopted a more assertive stance towards Pakistan since taking power three years ago. Both sides accuse each other of provocations.

This is not the first time that India has announced military action against Pakistan. It said it had carried out “surgical strikes” along Kashmir’s de facto border last September, a claim that was also dismissed by Pakistan.

Conflict Reaches India’s Stock Market

Regardless, India’s market responded to the words of its military Tuesday, with its currency being weakened by as much as a half-percentage point, the sharpest decrease the nation has seen since May 18. The S&P BSE Sensex index of shares closed 0.7 percent lower, while benchmark 10-year sovereign bonds reversed gains.

“Investors across asset classes got a bit nervous,” Soumen Chatterjee, Kolkata-based head of research at Guiness Securities Ltd., told Bloomberg. “Increasing tensions across the border will create uncertainty.”

India’s currency has taken a hard hit amid the rising tensions on the Kashmir border.

India’s military action comes roughly three weeks after New Delhi blamed Pakistani military personnel for killing and mutilating Indian soldiers in the disputed region of Kashmir, which is claimed in full and ruled in part by both countries.

Indian sovereign bonds fell, with the yield on the new 10-year benchmark notes rising one basis point to close at 6.67 percent.