Villagers accuse Pakistan troops of violating ceasefire in Poonch

Villagers living in border area of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District have accused troops from Pakistan of violating the ceasefire by firing across the Line of Control (LoC).

According to the media reports, there was a ceasefire violation in Poonch District on Friday.

"Around 8.30 in the morning (IST) today, there was firing from Pakistan's side due to which panic and terror spread in the whole village. Children were going to school they started running and everybody was running for some shelter and the shelling was such that no work could be done the entire day. Already due to heavy rains, villagers were not able to complete their chores earlier," said a villager, Mushtaq Hussain.

Pakistan's Director-General of Military Operations called up his Indian counterpart to discuss an alleged ceasefire violation by Indian troops, but the DGMO in India dismissed the charge and accused Pakistan soldiers of starting the firing.

The villagers living in villages along the border out-posts areas had to bear the brunt of the shelling which created a panic situation and obstructed their routines.

"We live in the border area and Pakistan should understand that we are like them only and Indian government should also ask the government of Pakistan that why do they fire time and again. We don't even come to know and firing just starts all of a sudden, early in the morning today around 8.30 they started firing. It is not like they ask us and then start firing," said a student, Ashir Iqbal.

The restive region has witnessed numerous militant attacks, insurgency, and infiltration attempts from across the border in the last two decades.

Militants often attacked security bases in Kashmir during the 1990s, when there was a full-blown insurgency against Indian rule in a region over which India and Pakistan fought two of their three wars.

The Himalayan region is one of the world's most militarised zones, with India deploying more than 1.3 million troops to quell the rebellion that triggered off in 1989.