Pakistan violates LoC ceasefire again

Pakistan army again violated bilateral ceasefire in the Mendhar sector of the Line of Control in Jammu region on Sunday.

A defence spokesperson said in Srinagar that Pakistan troops carried out unprovoked firing using small arms and automatic weapons on Sunday morning.

“Our troops gave befitting reply using weapons of similar calibre,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added no damage or casualty were reported on Indian side till the last reports came in.

India and Pakistan had agreed to bilateral ceasefire in November 2003 which held for a long time.

PTI adds:

Sunday's firing by Pakistani troops is third instance of violation of the ceasefire this month, and second after the handing over of the captured jawan to BSF by Pakistan Rangers on Octerio BoP along Indo-Pak border in Jammu district's R S Pura sector on Friday.

On August 8, barely six hours after handing over captured 30-year-old BSF jawan Satya Sheel Yadav, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by targeting Indian forward posts with small arms and automatic weapons along the Line of Control in Bhimbher Gali sector of Poonch district.

On August 5, Pakistani troops targeted Indian forward posts with small arms and automatic weapons along the Line of Control in Sher Shakti forward belt of Poonch district.

At the flag meeting between Battalion Commandants of BSF and Pak rangers at Octerio BoP in R S Pura sector, BSF and Pakistan Rangers had on Friday made a commitment to uphold peace and tranquillity on the border and extend all cooperation to each other in dealing with emergent incidents in a proactive and positive manner.

General Officer Commanding of Nagrota-based 16 Corps, Lieutenant General K H Singh had recently said that the Indian Army has been directed to give a befitting reply to Pakistani troops over ceasefire violations, firing and infiltration attempts from across the border.

Eight ceasefire violations by Pakistan were witnessed in July. In June, it violated the ceasefire five times along the LoC and IB in Jammu region. There were 19 incidents of ceasefire violation along the LoC in April-May.

Image: An Indian Army soldier patrols along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir

Photo: Reuters