BSF trooper injured in cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor

The BSF said the unprovoked firing in the Akhnoor area from across the border began at 02:35 am and that there was a befitting response to the ceasefire violation

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday said a trooper of the border guarding force was injured in firing from the Pakistani side along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor, prompting a response.

BSF said its troops were on high alert. (HT PHOTO/Representative)

“On September 11 [Wednesday], at about 02:35 AM, there was an incident of unprovoked firing in [the] Akhnoor area from across the border, which was befittingly responded by the BSF One BSF personnel sustained injuries in Pak firing. Our troops are on high alert,” the BSF said in a statement.

Pakistan violated the ceasefire agreement along the border at least four times last year. A BSF trooper was killed in one such firing last year.

India and Pakistan reached an agreement to enforce the 2003 ceasefire deal after a meeting between the Directors General of Military Operations in February 2021. There were 72 cross-border firing incidents at the international border and Line of Control before the two sides agreed to enforce the ceasefire.

At least 5,133 incidents of ceasefire violations – the highest since 2003 – were reported in 2020. In 2019, 3,479 violations were logged as the government nullified Constitution’s Article 370 to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status.