Indian forces shoot Pakistani 'intruder' crossing border

India's Border Security Forces (BSF) said on Saturday they shot dead a Pakistani man who had crossed the border from Pakistan into India.The BSF is an armed police force under India's Interior Ministry.

The man was crossing into Banaskantha district of the western Indian state of Gujarat on Friday evening, the BSF said.Gujarat lies across from Pakistan's southeastern province of Sindh.

"They [Indian troops] challenged the intruder, but he continued to advance, prompting them to open fire. The intruder was neutralized on the spot," the BSF statement said.

What are the border tensions between India and Pakistan?

Tensions between India and Pakistan have been high in the wake of the April 22 attack which saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed by Islamist militants near the mountain town of Pahalgam in India's Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the militants and launched "Operation Sindoor," which saw a series of airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan denied the accusations and launched drone strikes against Indian targets.

At least 50 people were reported to have been killed in total before the US helped broker a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed countries on May 10.

Despite the ceasefire holding, foreign policy experts and diplomats from both countries believe that while the de-escalation marked the end of the two countries' worst military confrontation in 25 years, the foreign-brokered ceasefire was not a path to an enduring peace.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah<>