Pakistan-controlled Kashmir's parliament on Monday called upon India to open the de facto border separating the two sides of the disputed territory to allow rescue officials to reach residents hit by devastating floods.

Monsoon-induced flooding has wreaked havoc on both sides of the Himalayan region, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

An Indian teenager died after allegedly being set on fire during an attack by four men when she went outside to relieve herself in the country's east, police said Monday.   

The family of the girl, thought to have been 17, has told police she was attacked on Saturday night when she went outside because her home in Uttar Pradesh state -- like many in India -- does not have a toilet.

A top Indian Kashmiri separatist leader Friday urged New Delhi to follow Britain's lead in allowing Scotland's independence referendum and let the Himalayan region hold a similar vote.

Militants have been fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian-administered Kashmir for a quarter of a century and while violence has diminished, the issue of self-determination is still a divisive one in the scenic region.

Chinese troops have begun pulling back from the disputed border with India, sources said Friday, as President Xi Jinping wrapped up a rare summit in New Delhi overshadowed by the stand-off at the remote frontier.

The row over an alleged incursion by hundreds of Chinese troops into territory claimed by India has dominated Xi's visit, intended to reset ties between Asia's two superpowers after the election of a new Indian government this year.

President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated former State Department official Rich Verma to be the new U.S. ambassador to India.

Verma, an Indian-American and lawyer by trade, served in Obama's first term and is seen as close to the administration.

Indian and Chinese leaders pledged Thursday to resolve a long-running border dispute that led to a bloody 1962 war, as a stand-off between troops on the remote frontier overshadowed a rare summit in New Delhi.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had expressed concerns to China's visiting President Xi Jinping about "incidents" on the disputed border in the northern Ladakh region, where reports said hundreds of troops were facing off.

The Dalai Lama hailed Xi Jinping as "more open-minded" on Thursday as the Chinese president held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rare visit to India.

India's new prime minister rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping in his home town on Wednesday, as the Chinese president began a maiden visit with both sides seeking to reset the relationship between Asia's rival superpowers.

Narendra Modi has pulled out all the stops for Xi's arrival, organizing an intimate riverside dinner in Ahmedabad, the main city in his home state of Gujarat, where giant billboards in Chinese, Gujarati and English have been put up to welcome him.

An alliance of pro-Pakistani militant groups fighting in Indian Kashmir announced Monday it was suspending jihadist activities to carry out rescue and relief work for flood victims.

The umbrella United Jihad Council (UJC) was formed in 1994 and is widely believed to have close links to Pakistan's military establishment.

Fresh rain in Indian Kashmir disrupted rescue operations Sunday, a week after deadly floods struck the Himalayan region and then left hundreds of thousands marooned both in India and neighboring Pakistan.

The floods and landslides have now claimed at least 480 lives in the two countries, and rescuers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster.