An elderly Pakistani man was killed by Indian troops as fresh cross-border firing rocked the disputed Kashmir region, officials said Wednesday.

The 75-year-old was herding goats outside his home in the Chari Kot border village of Pakistani administered Kashmir on Tuesday when he was killed by “unprovoked” firing by Indian troops, Abdul Majeed Mughal, a senior government official in the region tasked with monitoring cross border fire, told AFP.

“A 75-year-old man was killed due to Indian firing in Chari Kot,” Mughal said.

Local government officials also confirmed the casualty caused by shots from Indian soldiers, adding that Pakistani troops returned fire.

Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry said it had lodged a protest with India over the incident.

At least 20 civilians have been killed and thousands on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border, have fled their homes since October 6 — the beginning of some of the worst frontier shelling in years.

The nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought two wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, have traded blame for the recent violence in the disputed Himalayan region.

Both countries administer parts of Kashmir but claim sovereignty over the whole region.

India called off peace talks last month after Pakistan consulted with Indian Kashmiri separatists, in a move some saw as a sign of a tougher stance under Narendra Modi’s new right-wing government. SAPA