All quiet at LoC, day after six-hour firing

JAMMU - There were no reports of any exchange of fire Monday along the Line of Control (LoC) Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district after more than six hours of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani armies the day before but tension persisted, army sources said here.

The gunfire duel started at 9 a.m. Sunday after Pakistani troops opened fire on Indian positions - Kranti and Kirpan posts manned by 17 Mahar of the Indian Army - at Krishna Ghati in Mendhar area of the district, about 200 km north of Jammu. One Indian soldier was injured in the firing from across the LoC.

There has been no incident of firing after 3 p.m. Sunday. “Until this morning, there were no reports of any other incident of firing on the LoC,” an army source told IANS Monday. “But there is tension in the air.”

Army sources refused to speculate on the reasons behind the Pakistani Army’s

“unprovoked” actions along the LoC that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

“We have communicated to the army headquarters the nature of the hostile action on the LoC by the Pakistani army, that’s all,” an official said.

Both sides are expected to meet at a flag meeting on Monday. They will exchange notes on the increasing incidents of firing along the LoC. India will protest against Pakistan’s actions, the source said.

As far as the Indian side is concerned, the army is alert, because the LoC is also the favourite infiltration route for terrorists to sneak into Indian territory. Moreover, Pakistan’s ceasefire violations - four times this month - have raised the level of tension.