Pakistan accused India Monday of killing four civilians and wounding six others in cross-border fire, amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

The incident occurred near the border dividing Indian-held Kashmir from Pakistan's Punjab province, Pakistani officials said.

"At least four people including a woman were killed and six others were injured when Indian troops opened fire across the border in Nakyal sector," local official Zeeshan Nisar told AFP.

Nakyal lies on the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Himalayan state.

He said the cross-border firing started at 8:00 am and continued through Monday with no break.

Adnan Khursheed, another local official, confirmed the firing and casualties.

Relations between the two countries have plummeted in recent months, with India blaming Pakistani militants for a raid on an army base in its part of Kashmir in September that killed 19 soldiers.

India said it responded by carrying out strikes across the heavily-militarised border, although Islamabad denies these took place.

Tensions were already high before the army base attack over the July 8 death of a popular militant leader, with nearly 90 people killed in clashes with security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir since then.

Last week New Delhi said it was expelling a Pakistani visa official for suspected spying, with Islamabad responding by sending back an Indian diplomat in an apparent tit-for-tat move.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the mountainous region.