Villager injured in shelling by Pak troops in Poonch

A villager was injured when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked mortar and small arms firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.

The firing and shelling comes close to the day-long visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

An Army spokesperson said that the force was retaliating befittingly to silence the Pakistani guns and there was no immediate report of any casualty.

"At about 0900 hours, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation with firing of small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in Mendhar sector," the officer said.

Naib Sarpanch, Zaffar Ullah of Baloni in Mankote belt, was injured and was hospitalised, he said.

The cross-border shelling was still on when last reports were received, a police officer said, adding that the firing triggered panic among the border residents who have been directed to stay at safer places.

Rajnath Singh is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial in Dras to commemorate 20 years of the Indian Army's Operation Vijay.

The minister will also dedicate to the nation two bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation at Ujh in Kathua district and Basantar in Samba district.

The Ujh bridge is one kilometre-long and the Basantar bridge is 617.4 metres long, officials said.

Operation Vijay refers to the Indian Army's limited war against Pakistan's infiltration in 1999 fought at the icy heights of Kargil, including super-high altitude locations such as Tololing and Tiger Hill.