Pakistan violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts
Pakistani troops again violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir today. An army jawan was killed in the firing. A senior police officer said the jawan, posted in a forward area in Noushera sector of Rajouri district, was killed when he was hit by a bullet from across the border in the early hours today.
He said Pakistani troops also fired indiscriminately in Digwar sector of nearby Poonch district. The firing from across the border started at 1 am and continued till 5:30 am, the official said.
Amid the spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat yesterday reviewed the operational preparedness of the force and the prevailing security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army Chief also visited forward posts along the LoC and interacted with soldiers in Rajouri sector, where an Army Major and three jawans were killed by Pakistani troops on December 23.
Jammu and Kashmir has seen a total of 881 ceasefire violations this year, highest in the past seven years, along the LoC and the International Border resulting in the death of 34 people. According to officials, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 771 times till December 10, and 110 times along the International Border till November-end.
In these incidents of firing from across the border, 30 people -- 14 army personnel, 12 civilians and four BSF personnel -- were killed.
In 2016, there were 449 incidents of ceasefire violations in which 13 civilians and 13 government forces personnel were killed and 83 civilians and 99 security personnel were injured. In 2014, there were 583 incidents of ceasefire violation in which 14 civilians and three security personnel were killed, and 101 civilians and 28 security personnel were injured.