Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)</s>NEW DELHI: The government said on Thursday that the Pakistan army was increasingly resorting to ceasefire violations and extending “tacit support” to cross border infiltration attempts.

“Despite calls for restraint, Pakistan forces committed 27 ceasefire violations between 16 and 21 November,” said MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup. The government “strongly deplored” the Pakistan army’s tacit support to armed terrorists who came from areas close to the Pakistan army posts on November 22, killed three Indian soldiers and mutilated the body of one of them.

The spokesperson said the Pakistan army targeted 18 villages along the Line of Control from November 16 to 21, causing “extensive damage” to public and private property and displacing civilian population. Pakistani firing was a well-known tactic to facilitate infiltration by terrorists. “During the last week alone, there have been 15 instances when terrorists indulged in nefarious activities from the vicinity of the Pakistani army posts across the Line of Control,” said Mr. Swarup.

Pakistan should contain terrorism emanating from its soil and avoid blaming India for the situation in Kashmir, the MEA said after Islamabad took up Kashmir with foreign dignitaries and formed a special committee for its campaign. “Pakistan would be well-advised to focus its energies on stemming the rot of terrorism, instead of expending its breath in making baseless allegations,” he said.

India’s response came as Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting on Thursday to review the situation after several bus passengers died near the LoC in alleged firing from the Indian side. “We cannot tolerate deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, particularly children and women, ambulances and civilian transport,” Mr. Sharif said after the meeting.

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Ranvir Singh on Wednesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and expressed regret at the death of civilians in Indian firing. But official sources said India would not hesitate to act in the event of a terror strike. “DGMO has expressed ‘grief’ at the Pakistani civilian deaths. But it is for Pakistan to stop firing and shelling on Indian civilian areas, as otherwise we will be forced to retaliate,” said an official source.</s>Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)</s>next Image 1 of 3

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Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that damaged homes and prompted the evacuation of thousands of people over the past few days.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Thursday that police are investigating all possible causes, including arson. Windy and hot weather have helped fan the flames.

He says the blazes started three days ago at the Neve Shalom community near Jerusalem where Israelis and Arabs live together.

Later, fires erupted in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov and elsewhere near Jerusalem. In all, hundreds of homes have been damaged and thousands of people have been evacuated. About a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation.

Cyprus, Russia, Italy and other countries are assisting the Israeli firefighters with equipment as the fires continue.</s>Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)</s>British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, addresses a news conference with Pakistan's adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Johnson expressed concern over the Kashmir escalation and appealed to the two South Asian countries "to maintain a positive dialogue" to resolve the dispute of the territory, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Britain's top diplomat on Thursday urged Pakistan and India to find a lasting solution for Kashmir a day after a deadly exchange of fire killed more than a dozen people in the disputed Himalayan region.

But after meeting with Pakistani officials, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters in Islamabad that it was up to the two South Asian countries to resolve the crisis and that Britain should not "prescribe a solution or act as a mediator."

India meanwhile summoned a Pakistani diplomat to lodge a protest over what it said were continued violations of a 2003 cease-fire. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said Pakistani troops had helped "terrorists" infiltrate Kashmir, where they killed three Indian soldiers and mutilated one of their bodies, which was found Tuesday.

India had vowed to retaliate after the body was found, and on Wednesday the two sides blasted away at each other across the Line of Control, the latest in a series of violent exchanges in recent weeks. Indian fire struck a bus on the Pakistani side, killing at least 10 people. Another two Pakistani civilians and three Pakistani soldiers were also killed. There was no immediate word of Indian casualties.

The nuclear-armed rivals each claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over the dispute.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a high-level security meeting to review the Kashmir situation on Thursday and said "we will never abandon our Kashmiri brethren in their freedom struggle," according to a government statement.

Pakistan's air force chief Sohail Aman meanwhile warned India against escalating the dispute over Kashmir into full-scale war, saying that Pakistani troops "know full well how to deal with them."

Associated Press writer Muneeza Naqvi in New Delhi contributed.</s>Boris Johnson (centre) speaks at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Aamir Qureshi)

Islamabad (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called for an end to violence in Kashmir during a visit to Islamabad Thursday, warning tensions between India and Pakistan are holding the region back from becoming an "incredible boomzone".

Johnson, who said he was visiting Pakistan for the first time, spoke a day after at least nine people were killed in Pakistani-held Kashmir when a civilian bus was hit by cross-border fire.

The deadly incident, which came after months of dangerous tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, saw Pakistani and Indian military officials speak via a special hotline, according to the Pakistani military, which said it reserves "the right to respond".

Johnson warned former colonial power Britain could not act as a mediator in the nearly 70-year-old dispute over the Himalayan region, saying it must be up to India and Pakistan to find a "lasting solution".

He voiced concern over incidents "on both sides" of the de facto Kashmir border, the Line of Control (LoC).

"We call for an end to the violence and for both sides to exercise restraint," he said.

Johnson also lamented the "mutual sequestration" of the Indian and Pakistani economies.

"Look at the incredible human potential of Pakistan and its neighbours... and then imagine what the future could be like if this was sorted out. What an incredible boomzone it could be."

Tensions in Kashmir reached dangerous levels in September, after India blamed Pakistani militants for a raid on an army base that killed 19 soldiers.

India said it had responded by carrying out "surgical strikes" across the heavily militarised border, sparking fury from Islamabad, which denied they took place.

There have since been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing, with both sides reporting deaths including of civilians.

After Wednesday's shooting Pakistani authorities closed the road leading to the scenic Neelum Valley, a popular tourist destination near the LoC, for security reasons.

Residents told AFP they had fled the valley fearing for their lives after repeated shellings, seeking shelter in the region's main city Muzaffarabad.

"I along with my wife and six children travelled by foot through the night," said resident Tasawar Shah.

The Indian foreign ministry Thursday also accused Pakistan of targeting civilians in villages along the LoC, and of supporting "armed terrorists" it said had crossed the border earlier in the week and killed three Indian soldiers.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British rule ended in 1947. Both claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the mountainous region.

Rebel groups have for decades fought Indian soldiers for independence for the region or its merger with Pakistan. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.

Johnson, in Pakistan for a two-day visit, also spoke about US President-elect Donald Trump's campaign threats to reconsider defending NATO allies unless they up defence spending.

"We need a strong NATO alliance and I think the president-elect is quite right to draw attention to the need to finance that alliance properly," he said.</s>Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)</s>Pakistani doctors at a hospital in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, treat a villager injured during an attack on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan — Indian troops fired on a Pakistani passenger bus in Kashmir on Wednesday, killing 10 civilians in one of the deadliest incidents in weeks of violence in the disputed Himalayan region, stoking tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the shelling "naked aggression," and the government summoned an Indian diplomat to lodge a protest. The Pakistani army contacted its Indian counterpart over a crisis hotline, saying "we reserve the right to respond at the place and time of our choosing."

The Pakistani military said it had already fired back at Indian positions, killing seven soldiers, but there was no word on casualties from the Indian side. Indian army spokesman Col. Nitin Joshi said an intense exchange of fire was underway.

Kashmir is split between Indian and Pakistani areas of control and claimed in its entirety by both countries. The South Asian rivals fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, and it remains one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Waheed Khan, a Pakistani police official in the region, said the Indian shelling also hit villages near the Line of Control separating the two sides, killing another two civilians and causing others to flee. At least three Pakistani soldiers were also killed, the military said, adding that Indian troops had fired on an ambulance.

The latest exchange of fire came a day after the mutilated body of an Indian soldier was found in Kashmir. The Indian military did not say whether the soldier was killed by Pakistani soldiers or Kashmiri rebels, who have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

"Retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act," Col. Rajesh Kalia, another Indian army spokesman, said after Tuesday's attack.

Tensions have soared in Kashmir since militants attacked an Indian army base there in September, killing at least 17 soldiers. India said the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. The two sides have traded blame for the cross-border fire and have accused each other of violating a 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir.

Last week, the Pakistani army claimed to have shot down a small Indian drone in Kashmir, a day after the navy said it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the country's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, contributed.</s>Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)
Pakistani Chief of Air Staff Sohail Aman warns India not to escalate tensions in the disputed territory of Kashmir under the threat of a full-scale war. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urges both sides to restrain themselves while on a diplomatic mission to Islamabad.