A villager stands next to mortar shell marks on the wall of her residence in Devigarh Village in Arnia Sector near the India-Pakistan border, 45 kilometers from Jammu
Jammu: In another ceasefire violation, at least three civilians were injured on Monday night in heavy firing and mortar shelling by Pakistan along the international border in Jammu district, said a Border Security Force spokesperson.
According to the spokesperson, the Pakistan Rangers targeted 40 border outposts and villages in
heavy mortar shelling and firing in four sub-sectors of Jammu district.
Earlier on Monday, five civilians, including a young girl, were killed and 29 others injured in unprovoked firing by Pakistan.
The Indian government said its forces were responding to the "provocations" and the firing was not conducive to normalising relations between the two countries.
The five civilians, including a 15-year-old girl and her 50-year-old father, were killed in indiscriminate mortar shelling and automatic weapons firing by Pakistan Rangers across the international border in Arnia sub-sector of RS Pura area of Jammu district, a police officer told a news agency in Jammu.
Pakistani mortar shells had fallen inside the Arnia bus stand, which is more than four km away from the international border.
Later, the Pakistani Army also resorted to unprovoked firing at Indian positions along the Line of Control in Poonch district, a Defence Ministry official said, while there was further firing by the Pakistan Rangers in Arnia and Kanachak areas of Jammu district on Monday night, which was responded to by the Border Security Force.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in New Delhi that defence forces and paramilitary forces were "fully ready and are responding to each of their (Pakistan's) provocations".
He said the environment being created by Pakistan will not help in normalising relationship between the two countries.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi said that Pakistan "should understand the reality that times have changed in India". He said that he had asked BSF director general DK Pathak to rush to the border areas where incidents of ceasefire violations had been reported.
Pakistan has, in turn, lodged "a strong protest" with the Indian government over "unprovoked firing" by India and alleged that violation of the ceasefire by Indian security forces had led to the deaths of four civilians.
The Indian Army guards the LoC while paramilitary BSF guards the international border in Jammu and Kashmir.
(With IANS inputs)
No comments:
Post a Comment