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Pahalgam terror attack: Pakistan violates ceasefire for 11th day in a row
The Indian army said it responded to Pakistan's small arms firing “promptly and proportionately.”
Pakistani troops on Monday violated the ceasefire agreement along several sectors of the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border in Jammu and Kashmir for the 11th consecutive night. Unprovoked small arms fire was reported across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajauri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army said it responded to the violation “promptly and proportionately.”
The army said firing was initiated by Pakistani troops across five border districts – Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch in the south of the Pir Panjal ranges in the Jammu region, and Baramulla and Kupwara districts in the Kashmir valley.
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Ceasefire violations began as “unprovoked small arms firing” on several posts along the LoC and swiftly expanded.
Later, small arms fire was also reported along the LoC in the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri and also in the Pargwal sector of Jammu.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, at a meadow near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. While New Delhi said it found clear cross-border linkages to the terror attack, Islamabad denied its role and said it is open to a “neutral” third-party investigation.
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UNSC to meet
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), meanwhile, will hold “closed consultations” on Monday after Pakistan, a non-permanent member, requested the same to discuss escalating tensions with India.
Apart from the five veto-wielding permanent members – China, France, Russia, UK and the US – the 10 non-permanent members in the council are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday that Moscow is willing to act for “a political settlement” of escalating tensions between Pakistan and India.
“It was stressed that Russia is ready to act for a political settlement of the situation resulting from the act of terrorism of April 22 in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley, in the event of a mutual desire on the part of Islamabad and New Delhi,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram.
