Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Pakistani Army yet again resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) in Balakote sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, by firing mortars and small arms along the Line of Control (LoC), defence officials said today.
They said that at around 10 am, Pakistani rangers fired mortars and small arms in a bid to target forward posts of Indian Army at Mendhar and Poonch sectors. “Our troops gave a befitting reply,” a defence official said, adding that “there was no report of any loss to life or property.”
This is for the 4th time in the past three days that Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Balakote sector.
Locals living close to Balakote sectors in Poonch district said panic gripped the area and people locked themselves and their livestock to stay safe,” a group of residents said.
Defence sources said that Pakistan started intense shelling post abrogation of Article 370 last year and continues to resort to frequent unprovoked CFVs in both the regions of Kashmir and Jammu. “The Indian Army has been giving a befitting reply to Pakistan every time it violates ceasefire. Our troops are alert across LoC and are keeping a watch on every attempt made by the neighbor, be it ceasefire violation or an infiltration bid,” they said.
As per the official records, since January this year, over 1,780 ceasefire violations have taken place in J&K, majority of them in Poonch, Rajouri, RS Pura, Keran, Tangdhar, Machil and Uri sectors of the J&K UT.
An Army official said that it is the Pakistan’s Army that violates the 2003 CF pact every time. “There have been casualties on both sides,” he said, adding that “this year so far, there is a surge in CFV from across the LoC.”
Pertinently, after a long gap of over three decades, the government in the J&K UT has once again started construction of community bunkers in villages close to LoC in J&K.
NVI was the first to break the story about construction of community bunkers in Uri, Tangdhar and Gurez sectors of north Kashmir’s Kupwara, Bandipora and Baramulla district. The construction of almost 140 bunkers was started after massive protests by the locals living close to the LoC and their threats of migration from the villages.
-CHK
