July 29 (Bloomberg) -- India and Pakistan, the nuclear-armed neighbors that have fought three wars in six decades, accused each other of violating a November 2003 cease-fire after a 13- hour-long exchange of fire in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

``The firing has stopped,'' Indian army spokesman Anil Kumar Mathur said in a phone interview in New Delhi today. ``A flag meeting called by the Indian army has been accepted by Pakistan and it will be held after some time.''

The clash follows terrorist attacks in two Indian cities on July 25 and 26 that killed at least 51 people, straining relations that have improved after five years of talks. The neighbors began restoring ties in April 2003 after coming close to fighting a fourth war the previous year.

India said a group of Pakistani soldiers crossed the border in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir yesterday, leading to the exchanges in which one Indian soldier died.

Pakistan denied the accusation, saying Indian soldiers had tried to establish a post on the Pakistani side of the border.

``On Pakistan's objection, Indian troops opened indiscriminate and unprovoked fire,'' said a press release issued in Islamabad by the Pakistani military today. ``The Indian fire was immediately responded to.''

The clash was a ``serious violation'' of the cease-fire along the so-called Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the neighbors, Indian army spokesman Mathur said. ``They have physically moved in to our side of the Line of Control.''

`Unprovoked' Firing

Pakistan's military condemned what it called the ``unprovoked'' firing by Indian troops and denied reports of any Pakistani casualties. It said no Pakistani soldier crossed the border and that there was evidence to back up its contention.

``After the fire fight, the Indian soldiers were forced to flee from the area leaving behind their weapons,'' the Pakistani military said. ``The evidence will be shown to the Indians during the flag meeting.''

Both sides regularly accuse each other of cease-fire violations. Two of the wars between Pakistan and India since 1947 have been over Kashmir, which is claimed in full by both.

About 12 Pakistani soldiers were spotted at about 3 p.m. local time yesterday in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara district, Mathur said.

``We retaliated because they killed our soldier,'' Mathur said. ``We recovered the body last night.''

The Indian spokesman declined to comment on casualties on the Pakistani side. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the clashes, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported today, citing people it didn't identify.

Kashmir, Cooperation

The two sides are in talks on issues including control of Kashmir, commercial cooperation, terrorism and drug trafficking. The talks, which began under President Pervez Musharraf and before the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, have continued after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's government took charge in March this year.

India accuses Pakistan of backing separatists fighting its rule in Jammu & Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state. Pakistan denies the accusation, saying it provides only moral support for a freedom struggle.

The clashes on the border come after terrorist attacks in the Indian cities of Bangalore and Ahmedabad for which an Islamist group calling itself the ``Indian Mujahideen'' has taken responsibility.

As many as 49 people were killed in Ahmedabad on July 26 and two died in Bangalore the day before that.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net. Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabadt .

Last Updated: July 29, 2008 06:31 EDT