New Delhi:
The Pakistani troops on Friday again violated the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Balakote in Mendhar sector of Poonch district by firing of small arms and shelling with mortars. The Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani firing. According to the sources, the firing stopped at 9.15 pm.
The Pakistan army earlier this week fired mortar shells on forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Poonch districts. “Repeated unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops took place in the Akhnoor Sector in Jammu district from 4 am Monday and intermittently continued till 10 pm,” an official said. They resorted to “firing of small arms & shelling with mortars”, the spokesman said.
Pakistani troops also fired and shelled forward posts and civilians areas in Qasna and Kerni sectors along the LoC in Poonch district, he said.
The Indian army retaliated befittingly, the spokesman said.
Last week, Pakistan violated the ceasefire in Krishna Ghati Sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the data informed in the Lok Sabha, as many as 950 incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistan have been reported along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said in the Lok Sabha that terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan’s control remains a core concern in bilateral relations.
“950 incidents of ceasefire violation along the LoC from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir were reported during August 2019 to October 2019,” he said, replying a written question.
On August 5, the central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.
