India, Pak hold flag meeting along LoC in J&K's Poonch to ease tensions

India and Pakistan on Friday held a flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district in an effort to ease tension after several recent incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack, official sources said.

The sources said the brigade-commander level flag meeting took place in the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point area with both sides highlighting the need to maintain peace along the borders.

The 75-minute long meeting started around 11 am, they said.

The meeting took place in a congenial atmosphere and both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in the larger interest of peace on the borders, the sources said.

The ceasefire violations along the borders of Jammu and Kashmir have been rare since the two countries renewed an agreement on February 25, 2021.

Two Indian Army personnel, including a captain, were killed and another injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack carried out by suspected terrorists in the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region on February 11.

Two army personnel were also injured in separate incidents of small arms firing from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on February 10 and 14, while two more army personnel were injured in separate landmine explosions in Poonch in the past week.

The extent of damage on the Pakistan side in the retaliatory action was not known immediately but the officials said the enemy forces also suffered heavy casualties.