'Soldier injured in Pak firing along LoC

An Army personnel was injured Sunday when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The soldier, manning a forward post, was hit by a bullet apparently from a Pakistani sniper in Keri sector and was hospitalised, they said, adding the Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire between the two sides continued for some time.

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations along the LoC in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch since the beginning of this year, resulting in the killing of two army personnel and injuries to several others.

The army major and a soldier were killed when an improvised explosive device went off in Naushera sector of Rajouri on Friday, the day when a porter was also killed in Pakistani firing in nearby Sunderbani sector.

The year 2018 recorded 2,936 ceasefire violations by Pakistan the highest in the past 15 years with an average of eight cases daily in which 61 people were killed and over 250 injured.