The Indian army said yesterday that mortar bombs were fired across the military line dividing Kashmir and accused Pakistan of violating a 14-month-old ceasefire between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Pakistan denied the charge, which is nevertheless the latest in a string of setbacks to a slow-moving peace process between the South Asian rivals.

The Indian army said a girl was wounded in the firing and had to be treated in hospital. It said 15 mortar bombs were fired late on Tuesday from Pakistani territory into Poonch district, 250km north of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state.

"This is certainly a violation of the ceasefire. This has happened for the first time since the ceasefire," Lt Col R K Chibber, spokesman of India's 16th Corps, said.

The deputy chief of the Indian army, Lt Gen B S Thakur, said India's Director-General of Military Operations had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart who had promised to respond.

"Our DGMO spoke to his counterpart telling him about our concerns. Initially, the Pakistani DGMO's reaction was they were not aware of it. When we gave details, he promised to come back to us," Thakur told reporters in New Delhi.

"We take this as a violation of the ceasefire agreement. We would like to use restraint and not retaliate. We have asked Pakistan to consider the incident in all its seriousness."

"There's going to be a series of discussions on this and I am sure with the kind of understanding that exists between the two armies, there will be a better understanding and restraint on both sides," Thakur said.

Indian officials also said five militants were killed while trying to sneak into Indian Kashmir in Poonch district earlier on Tuesday, and said the shelling could have been an attempt to provide cover to the infiltrators.

Asked whether Pakistani troops or militants had fired the mortars, Chibber said: "We are trying to ascertain what actually happened. We have maintained restraint."

A Pakistan government spokesman denied any violation of the ceasefire and said there had been no infiltration from its side. "It is totally incorrect," said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan.

"We also heard a blast between 7.15 and 7.30 on Tuesday evening from the side of Indian-held Kashmir but we don't know the source."

PHOTO CAPTION

Indian and Pakistani military commanders spoke by telephone hotline to calm tensions after mortars fired from Pakistan crashed into Indian-occupied Kashmir. (AFP)