India and Pakistan troops have again exchanged small arms, machine gun and mortar fire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch area, leaving at least one civilian dead and another wounded.
India accused Pakistani troops of resorting to unprovoked fire for the fifth time in the past three days with Indian forward posts being specific target. “Pakistani troops also fired rockets following which our jawans took positions and retaliated in calibrated manner,” a defence spokes-person in Jammu said. However, independent reports from Poonch said that the two sides exchanged heavy fire after short intervals throughout the intervening night of August 11 and 12. “The firing stopped at about 6 am today,” said a police official over the phone from the area in condition of anonymity.
Defence spokesperson S.N. Acharya said, “Pakistan troops opened heavy firing with small arms, mortar shells and rockets on Indian forward posts along LoC in Poonch and Durga Battalion areas around 1.50 am.” The spokesperson said no casualties were reported on the Indian side.
However, in Islamabad a Pakistani military officials said firing was started by Indian troops and that the Pakistanis only “responded to Indian firing.” They said the in fresh cross-border firing in Batal, Chirikot and Satwal sectors in PoK one civilian was killed and another-a woman, was wounded.