Pak shells 10 BoP areas along IB in JK

Pakistani troops shelled mortars and opened heavy fire on 10 Border Out Posts along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving two security personnel injured.

BSF officers said today that Pakistani Rangers fired from automatic weapons at BoP forward areas along the IB in R S Pura, Ramgarh, Kanachak, Arnia and Checkineck forward areas of Jammu and Samba districts throughout the night.

A BSF jawan and a Special Police Officer (SPO) were injured in Kandi-Arnia and Kanachak belts, they said.

The Pak Rangers also shelled civilian hamlets along the Indo-Pak border, triggering panic.

BSF troops guarding the borderline with Pakistan took positions and retaliated, resulting in exchanges which continued till this morning, they said.

"They are firing round-the-clock on our posts and patrolling persons to inflict casualties," an injured BSF jawan said at GMC hospital.

The mortar shelling could be heard throughout the night in the outskirts of Jammu city.

There was firing and shelling on eight posts in R S Pura forward area along IB in Jammu district last night (October 20), they said.

There has continuous and daily firing along 190-km-long IB in Jammu, Samba and Kathua sectors, besides LOC areas in Poonch since August 14.

There were nearly 140 ceasefire violations reported this year, highest in the last eight years.

In the backdrop of the increased ceasefire violations, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will visit forward areas along the IB to review the security situation tomorrow.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the Centre will have to look at other options if Pakistan continues to violate ceasefire.

The firing by Pakistani troops on civilian areas has also caused villagers from border hamlets to flee.