The Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a flareup as in renewed cross-border skirmishes the facing armies intensely pounded each others’ positions with automatic weapons and mortars again, a day after a Pakistani Army official was killed and another wounded in Skurdu area.
A report from Islamabad said, two Pakistani soldiers have been killed in Thursday’s shelling.
Indian Army officials blamed the boil over on the Pakistani Army saying it violated the November 2003 ceasefire agreement for the 34th time in past two weeks (eightieth since January 2013) early on Thursday by firing small arms and mortars to target the Indian posts in Hamirpur area of Poonch.
“The Pakistani troops started firing at our posts at around 12.05 pm today (Thursday). Our jawans retaliated effectively with similar calibre weapons,” said a defence spokesperson in Jammu. He added there were no casualties in the Pakistani Army’s “unprovoked” firing nor was any damage caused on the Indian side.
The spokesperson also said that on Wednesday night the Pakistani troops continued small arms firing at the Indian posts in Mendhar sector of Poonch for about half an hour from 10.30 pm which again was retaliated in a strong fashion.
In Islamabad, a military official said that two more Pakistani soldiers were killed in the latest Indian firing in the Rakh Chakri area close to Rawlakote (facing Poonch).
On Wednesday, the Pakistani officials had said that a Pakistani Army officer Captain Sarfaraz was killed and a soldier Yasin was wounded due to Indian troops’ “unprovoked” shelling in Shakma sector in Skurdu area.
They had also said that the Indian Army started firing at 11.15 pm (PST) on Tuesday in the Batal, Nakyal areas near Skardu and that the Pakistani army retaliated by firing as well and the exchange of bullets continued until 2 am on Wednesday.