Pakistan violates ceasefire, resorts to unprovoked firing along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch; Indian Army retaliates

Jammu: Pakistani troops on Sunday resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a day after a similar incident took the lives of four army personnel in nearby Rajouri district. The Pakistani troops started firing from heavy and light weapons from across the border, targeting forward posts and villages in Shahpur sector around 12.55 pm, a police official said. [caption id=“attachment_4148281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] He said the Indian troops guarding the LoC retaliated effectively and that the firing between the two sides was going on when the last reports came. However, there is no immediate report of any casualty in the skirmishes, the official said. The latest ceasefire violation comes a day after the Pakistani troops killed an army major and three jawans and injured another in Keri sector of nearby Rajouri district. Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a total of 881 ceasefire violations this year, highest in the past seven years , along the LoC and the International Border (IB), resulting in the death of 34 persons. According to officials, Pakistan has violated ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 771 times till 10 December, and 110 times along the IB till November-end this year. Thirty persons – 14 army personnel, 12 civilians and four BSF personnel – were killed in such incidents. The truce between India and Pakistan along the International Border, Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir came into force in November, 2003. India shares a 3,323-kilometre-long border with Pakistan, of which 221 kilometre of the IB and 740 kilometre of the LoC fall in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2016, there were 449 incidents of ceasefire violations wherein 13 civilians and 13 government forces personnel were killed and 83 civilians and 99 security personnel were injured. In 2014, there were 583 incidents of ceasefire violation in which 14 civilians and three security personnel were killed and 101 civilians and 28 security personnel were injured. In 2015, the number of ceasefire violations was 405; 347 in 2013, 114 in 2012, 62 in 2011 and 70 in 2010.