LEH/SRINAGAR, 26 August — India and Pakistan are exchanging daily fire on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing their armies in the north, but fighting has gone down dramatically since June, the Indian Army commander for the region said.

Lt. Gen. Rajinder Singh also said in an interview with Reuters that militants from Afghanistan had been brought into forward positions on the Pakistani side of the line during May and June, but had since been pulled back.

Singh, head of the 14th Corps, said 200 to 300 rounds of artillery were being exchanged daily in the area under his command — covering the LoC, in the Himalayan region of Ladakh.

But this was down from 5,000 a day in May and June — when the nuclear-armed neighbors came to the brink of war over Kashmir. The 14th Corps. covers some of the most sensitive parts of the LoC, including Kargil, scene of a major border conflict in 1999, and the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.

"As far as the situation on the LoC is concerned, I’d put it that it is as normal as it can be," Singh said.

He denied newspaper reports that the two armies, facing each other from mountain posts, had tried to take new ground recently.

"There has been no change in the status quo of the LoC in my area. It remains as it was," he said, adding that there had been "no visible attempts" to change positions since 1999.

Singh said Indian intercepts of communications from the Pakistani side of the LoC had shown the presence of militants, including those from the Afghanistan-based Al Qaeda.

"We had intercepts that he (Pakistan) had concentrated some Al-Qaeda members, some militants along some of these posts in the forward locations," he said.

But unable to get through Indian defenses, "as per our information, these people have been pulled back to depth areas."

Singh said that there were regular exchanges of fire on the Siachen Glacier — which runs up toward the border with China. A woman was killed in Kashmir yesterday as Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy fire overnight, a defense official said.

The official said Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy mortar fire in Rajouri, Batalik and Yaldoor sectors in Kashmir. "One lady was killed due to unprovoked mortar fire by Pakistani troops in Sundarbani area late on Saturday. Our troops retaliated," the official said.

The state is in the midst of an election campaign that has sparked fears of increased violence. Voting for a new state assembly, which New Delhi hopes will boost the legitimacy of its rule, will take place in September and October.

A police spokesman said security forces shot dead yesterday three militants near the Pakistan border in Kupwara district, northwest of Srinagar.

Four militants, two policemen and a civilian were killed in other incidents in the Himalayan region.

Police said 12 pedestrians, including two women, were wounded when militants lobbed two grenades at a security picket in Batamaloo area in the heart of Srinagar.

Officials admitted yesterday they were worried by a flare-up in separatist violence ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

However, they said security measures were being put in place to increase the safety of those wanting to cast their ballots in the election, which militants and separatist groups have vowed to disrupt and separatist leaders are boycotting.