Pak violates ceasefire, shells forward areas in J-K's Poonch

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire agreement Thursday by resorting to mortar shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, prompting retaliation by the Indian Army, officials said.

"At about 0930 hours, the Pakistani army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation, starting with firing of small arms, followed by shelling with mortars, along the LoC in Shahpur and Kirni Sectors in Poonch district," a defence spokesperson said.

The Indian Army mounted a befitting retaliation, he added.

Guns had been silent along the LoC since April 15 when Pak troops had resorted to firing and shelling on forward areas in Nowshera sector in Rajouri.

Ten people, including four soldiers, have been killed and over 50 people injured in Rajouri and Poonch districts since India's February 26 air strike on a JeM terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot in response to the Pulwama terror strike that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.

As many as 513 ceasefire violations by Pakistan have taken place along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in the past one-and-a-half months and the Pakistani side has suffered five to six times more casualties than the Indian Army in retaliatory action, a senior officer said.

The Pakistani armed forces have used heavy weaponry like mortars and artillery guns more than 100 times during these violations and targeted civilian areas but was given a befitting response by the Indian Army, General Officer Commanding (GOC) White Knight Corps Lt Gen Paramjit Singh had said last week.