By Fayaz Bukhari, Asif Shahzad and Tariq Maqbool CHURANDA, India/CHAKOTHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Nestled between mountains in Indian-administered Kashmir, teachers lead school children in the village of Churanda in morning prayers,

Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir overnight, killing at least five civilians amid a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.

Tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan soared after a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian-run side of Kashmir in April 2025, but two online videos of the Pakistani army chief visiting the disputed border are old.

India and Pakistan have been pushed a step closer to war after a gun massacre of tourists on April 22, their most serious confrontation in decades.

Tensions between Islamabad and New Dehli escalate after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Kashmir last month.

India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air, and at the sea, in a US-brokered cease-fire to stop escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals that threatened regional peace.

Pakistani troops conducted heavy shelling across the Line of Control in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the death of a woman and injuries to her family members. The Indian Army responded in kind.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, has been the site of several wars and diplomatic standoffs.Here is a look at the region, its history,