SPO injured as Pak violates ceasefire after 2-day lull in J-K's Poonch

A special police officer (SPO) was seriously injured as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control on Friday by targeting forward posts and villages in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, breaking a two-day lull in the border skirmishes, officials said.

SPO Sayeed Hussain Shah was seriously injured when a Pakistani shell exploded near him at village Gondria in Shahpur sector, a police official said.

He said Shah was attended at a local hospital and later referred to Government Medical College hospital Jammu for specialised treatment.

A defence spokesman said the shelling from across the border in Shahpur and Kerni sectors started around 6 pm, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army.

Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by heavy shelling with artillery and firing of small arms, he said adding the cross-border shelling between the two sides was still on when last reports were received.

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India's preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, were killed and several others injured as Pakistan targeted over 80 villages in over 100 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC in the state since then.

The shelling from across the border stopped on Wednesday afternoon and the lull was broken by latest incident of firing Friday evening, the spokesperson said.