Four Pakistani soldiers die in road accident in Azad Kashmir

Army soldiers stand guard the Uri crossing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Chakothi, Azad Kashmir, August 29, 2019. (REUTERS)

• The soldiers were in the semi-autonomous region to police local parliamentary polls
• Their vehicle plunged down a ravine off a curvy mountain road in Azad Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani soldiers died on Sunday when their vehicle plunged down a ravine off a curvy mountain road in Azad Kashmir, the part of the disputed Himalayan region administered by Pakistan, the military said in a statement.
The soldiers were in the semi-autonomous region to police its local parliamentary polls, it added. Another three soldiers and the driver were injured in the accident.
Violence has marred the voting, with local administration officials saying two supporters of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were shot and killed at a polling station.
The shooting involved supporters of the rival Pakistan People’s Party, once led by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in 2007 as she campaigned.
Pakistan and neighbor India each control part of the former princely state of Kashmir. Both countries claim a united Kashmir as their own. They have fought two wars over Kashmir and have come close to another on more than one occasion.