Ghulam Ahmad Mir bats for India-Pak talks

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Ghulam Ahmad Mir has said that India and Pakistan should sit down together for talks to find a peaceful solution.

"Imran Khan needs to translate words into action to fight terrorism. Both (India and Pakistan) the countries need to sit together to find a peaceful solution, he told reporters here on Sunday.

His comments came in the backdrop of heavy shelling by Pakistani forces in Poonch district last week, which has caused human casualties.

On March 2, three members of a family were killed in heavy shelling by Pakistani forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district.

Tensions along the LoC have escalated since the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Twelve days later, the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes at JeM's largest terror training camp in Balakot in Pakistan, killing a "large number" of terrorists.

"In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis, who were being trained for fidayeen action, were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, JeM chief," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had stated.

Authorities have ordered the closure of schools within a radius of five kilometres from the International Border with Pakistan and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.