World Bulletin/News Desk

Pakistani security forces arrested an Indian soldier after he crossed a river into Pakistan on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry in Islamabad said, potentially heightening tensions between the two nuclear armed rivals.

Tasnim Aslam said the unnamed soldier had crossed the Chenab river into the Sialkot area of Pakistan's Punjab province. It was unclear if he swam, she said, or was washed away after he and his colleagues abandoned a boat that ran into trouble, as some local media reported.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain. Both claim the Himalayan region of Kashmir and skirmishes between the two armies in that region are common.

But Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has promised to improve ties with India.