An Indian Army official was killed by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir’s Uri sector early on Monday, the latest in a series of ceasefire violations by the neighbouring country.
Prakash Chander, a junior commissioned officer, was shot dead by Pakistani soldiers at Bhim Post near Kaman bridge on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road at 12.15am, said Indian Army spokesperson Naresh Vij. Chander, a native of Pithoragarh in Uttrakhand, belonged to the 8 Kumaon Regiment.
Vij confirmed that the firing was a ceasefire violation. India did not fire back and instead lodged a protest with the Pakistani army over a hotline, he added.
Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, which was suspended in the morning following the incident, resumed at noon.
The firing occurred hours after senior officials of the two armies held scheduled phone talks on Sunday aimed at easing tensions in the region that has recently seen some of the worst firing since a ceasefire agreement a decade ago.
The Border Security Force had said last week that 50 frontier posts had been targeted in an escalation of small arms firing and shelling over the last month, despite public pledges to reduce tensions there.
{{/usCountry}}The Border Security Force had said last week that 50 frontier posts had been targeted in an escalation of small arms firing and shelling over the last month, despite public pledges to reduce tensions there.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan, in turn, accused India of killing a Rangers soldier and two civilians during firing and injuring 26 people on October 23.
But the recent rise in incidents has caused alarm. The subject was raised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the United Nations in New York last month, when they pledged to improve conditions to build trust.