E-Paper
Pakistan violates ceasefire in Poonch Sector, army retaliates ‘strongly’
A defence spokesperson said firing began at around 5:30 am on Wednesday along the Line of Control.
Pakistan on Wednesday resorted to firing and shelling on forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, prompting the Indian army to retaliate.
“Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 5:30am on Wednesday in Poonch sector along the LoC,” a defence spokesperson said, adding the Indian Army retaliated “strongly and effectively”.
There were also reports of firing and shelling in Mankote sub-sector of Poonch.
Officials informed that the shelling was “intense” in Malikpur Top, Basooni, Dharana and Patri. An ox belonging to one Mehmooa was killed in Patri when a shell exploded in the shed where the bovine was housed.
On Tuesday, Pakistan violated the ceasefire in Baaz and Nambla areas of Uri Sector in Baramulla district of the state.
Before that, Pakistani troops on Sunday violated the ceasefire four times along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri and Baramulla districts, injuring three Army jawans.
Last Saturday, Naib Subedar Jagram Singh Tomar of the Indian Army and a civilian woman were killed in separate cases of ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch.
On August 8, Pakistani troops shelled the KG Sector, in which Sepoy Pawan Singh Sugra was injured. He later succumbed to his injuries. Furthermore, on August 7, an Army jawan was injured in another ceasefire violation in Uri sector of Baramulla district.
So far, there have been 285 ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army till August 1, while in 2016, the number was significantly lesser at 228 for the entire year.
