Srinagar: The Indian Army on Monday reported multiple overnight instances of unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir Poonch and Kupwara districts and said the Indian troops responded effectively with small arms fire and that there were no casualties on their side.The officials said that the ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops have occurred continuously since the night of April 24-25 in different sectors of the LoC and each time they (Pakistani troops) used small arms in their failed attempts to target the forward Indian positions. They added that the Indian troops returned the fire by using the same calibre weapons.A section of Pakistani media has reported two fatal casualties in the Indian firing and said that both ‘victims’ were shepherds “who had gone near the LoC in search of their lost sheep”. Officially, Pakistan has not confirmed it or commented on the Indian allegation of its troops continuously violating the November 2003 ceasefire repledged by the two sides after a’ hotline contact’ between (India’s) Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Paramjit Sangha and his Pakistani counterparty Major General Nauman Zakaria on February 26, 2021.They had agreed to address the issues that could undermine the peace and stability along the borders in a “free, frank and cordial” fashion.Though the ceasefire understanding has largely held since, the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 tourists were killed has pushed the two sides to the brink of conflict, reigniting tensions along the LoC. Though it has not fully collapsed, the recurrence of skirmishes indicates the fragile truce is at risk of unravelling.The entire J&K and parts of Ladakh were last week put on high security alert. Particularly the areas bordering with Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir have witnessed rapid security placements, an enhanced multi-faceted surveillance and improved coordination between various security agencies. Also, the authorities have restricted the movements of non-locals in various areas falling in proximity of the LoC particularly in the Kupwara district and the visits to these areas which were witnessing a ‘border tourism’ boom for the past couple of years have been made subject to prior approval by the designated authorities.
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