Pakistani firing into India for over an hour

JAMMU - Pakistani troops fired for over an hour at an Indian border post in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district Monday night, an army officer in Jammu said. There were no casualties.

On its part, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) accused Indian troops of opening fire across the Line of Control at 1.30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Keeler sector, “killing a Pakistani soldier and injuring another”.

The Pakistani troops from Kaddu post fired at Kranti post on the Indian side, the Indian Army officer said, adding that the firing was unprovoked. “They fired with machine guns and rockets for over an hour on our position,” a brigadier general of the Indian Army’s 16 Corps said Tuesday.

Pointing out that this was yet another violation of the November 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries, the officer said the Indian side retaliated to the firing.

He added that the Indian side was yet to ascertain the reason for the firing which could be “cover fire to infiltrators or some other reason. But the matter shall be taken up with Pakistan in a serious way”.

Infiltration attempts from Pakistan and firing across the border have been on the rise in recent months. The Border Security Force (BSF) has foiled about a dozen infiltration attempts this year near Jammu.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of BSF J.B. Sangwan said that the infiltration focus from the border near Jammu “signifies that militants were planning strikes in and around Jammu. We are on alert to foil such attempts”.

Security forces are anyway on high alert in the run-up to Republic Day, with additional deployment at vulnerable places.