Mandhole, Azad Kashmir - Malik Rustam, 22, was asleep when the sound of gunfire woke up the whole family at around 4 am. Within minutes, everyone went for cover in a community bunker, as has been the practice routine for the residents here. The cross-border fire between the Pakistani and Indian troops is nothing new but earlier this week, on Thursday, the Indian military claimed that it had carried out surgical strikes against militant camps at four places, including one near Mandhole village.

The village is located along the banks of Poonch River, just across the Line of Control, the de facto border between Pakistan and India in the disputed Kashmir region. Indian military posts are visible to the naked eye, at a distance of not more than 500 metres.

On Saturday, Mr Rustam pointed towards the Indian military posts and said the Indians never came out of their military posts. “They are lying. They never crossed the LoC,” he said, as a group of people standing nearby nodded in agreement.

As the latest escalation between India and Pakistan threatens to break the fragile peace between the two estranged nuclear-armed neighbours, villagers here exhibited an unusual calm.

Schools have remained open. Grocery stores were serving customers, and public transport plied slowly on patchy, winding roads of the hilly terrain. As the afternoon sun sank behind the hills, several women could be seen working in the fields, cutting grass and herding cattle.

Mr Rustam and his fellow villagers were talking to a group of journalists, who were ferried Saturday by helicopters to Bhimber district of the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir by the Pakistani military.

Earlier in the day, Lt-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, the Pakistan army spokesman, gave a briefing at Bagsar, a picturesque hilly village, approximately 98 km from Mandhole, and reiterated Pakistani claims that Indians had just opened small weapon and mortar fire on Pakistani military posts.

Bagsar is about 2.5 kilometres from the LoC and 20 kilometres from Bhimber, the main town of Bhimber district, 166 kilometres from Islamabad. Here too, most residents seemed unperturbed by the events earlier this week.

Dozens of male students came out of their classrooms when they saw helicopters landing at a temporary helipad near their school.

During the briefing, Gen Bajwa said Indians opened fire on Sept 29, starting at 2 am till approximately 7 am, at five locations in an area spanning 250 kilometres.

But he reiterated that the Indian troops never crossed the LoC and were responded heavily by the Pakistani soldiers.

Gen Bajwa rubbished the claims of militant launching pads. India claims that it destroyed militant bases, which they were using as launching pads to carry out attacks in the part of Kashmir it holds.

“Where did all the dead bodies go?” Gen Bajwa asked about the alleged militants. “Where were the funerals? Why haven’t the Indians produced any dead bodies if they took them back?”

“Where is the damage?” Gen Bajwa asked and invited an independent inquiry. “Our side is open to the United Nations observers and journalists.”

Gen Bajwa said helicopters could be easily spotted in a valley due to the presence of monitoring systems all along the LoC, it was impossible for helicopters to cross over and return.

He pointed towards the Smahni valley, spread behind the command post briefing area, and said there had been no damage to the civilian property and lives. At least 100,000 people live in the valley, he said, where small clusters of houses were interspersed with agricultural tracts of land.

Indian and Pakistani militaries hold posts in varying heights behind Smahni valley. Officials said the area behind the ridges lit up in the evening due to the orange security lights installed by the Indian side.

Interestingly, Gen Bajwa said that contrary to earlier reports, Pakistan had not captured any Indian soldier. “By capture, it means that a soldier came here and was apprehended. Indians are saying that the soldier is an inadvertent crosser. We are checking it according to the procedure.”

Lt-Gen Bajwa was joined in the briefing by Maj-Gen Chiragh Haider, the General Officer Commanding of the 23 Division of Pakistan Army.

Maj-Gen Haider has been posted in Kashmir since the last two years and is a battle hardened commander, having earlier served in North Waziristan tribal region.

Gen Haider also expressed surprise at the Indian claims. “We are observing the ceasefire agreement in a very serious manner. We only respond if India opens fire,” he said.

“On my front, out of 191 kilometres, two places were opened. One was Bhimber and other was Tata Pani, which we normally call as Hot Springs,” Gen Haider said.

“It is very strange. Totally incomprehensible,” Gen Haider said of Indian claims. “We were left surprised. A surgical strike took place against us, and we were not even aware of it?” he questioned.

Pakistani military officials said it was impossible for enemy troops to cross over given the multilayered levels of security. “Were they so magical or so mysterious, I can’t say. But what happens here is that slightest movement is picked and is responded in such a strong manner that it never happens here,” Gen Haider said. “So, this is the actual truth.”

“It is all rhetoric,” the general replied when asked about the presence of militants in the area.

Brig Furqan Moazzam, the brigade commander, a heavyset officer with a long beard, said the Indian fire on Sept 29 was not intense than earlier occasions of cross-border fire exchanges. His soldiers promptly returned fire and silence the Indians guns by 7 am.

Brig Moazzam echoed his seniors when asked how the residents were coping with the aftermath of the border clashes. “The valley is right in front of you,” he said pointing to the vast area spread out in front. “Life is going on normally.”

Mirza Abdul Ghani, 76, a local councillor from Bandala, denied the presence of militants in the villages of the valley and said the villagers did not need anyone’s help except that of the Pakistan military.

“We have weapons in our homes,” Mr Ghani said. “We will fight the Indians ourselves if they attack.”