J&K: Ceasefire violations continue as Pakistani troops fire mortar shells, small arms

Pakistani troops continued resorting to unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Poonch districts on Friday.

Pakistani troops continued resorting to unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Poonch districts on Friday.

Giving details, sources told The Indian Express that after a brief lull of few hours, shelling from across the border started in Poonch district’s Mankote and Balakote areas at around 6 pm, whereas in Nowshera, the ceasefire violations restarted at around 4.15 pm. Sources further informed that the Indian Army was retaliating the Pakistani provocations.

Ever since the killing of 40 CRPF personnel in a militant attack in Pulwama on February 14, there has been a spurt in incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC. There have been nearly three dozen incidents of unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms fire from across the border during the past two days alone.

On Thursday, a woman was killed and a soldier who had come home on leave was among the four people injured as Pakistani troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling at various places along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Pakistani troops were using 120 mm mortars to target civilian areas, sources added.

Meanwhile, Northern Army Commander Lt General Ranbir Singh on Friday visited forward posts in the Akhnoor sector to review operational preparedness of troops as well as the prevalent security situation in the area.

During his visit, the Army Commander was briefed by the commanders on the ground, about the current operational situation, prevailing security scenario and the preparedness of the formation in dealing with the same, said Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand.

The Army Commander also briefed on the actions taken to meet the challenges of heightened ceasefire violations.

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