Schools within 5 km distance from the LoC in Rajouri and Pooch are closed. (Representational)
Heavy shelling and firing by Pakistani troops were reported along the Line of Control (LOC) in the border town of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir today. There have been six case of the violation of the ceasefire today, defence officials said.
Authorities said that at around 10:30 am, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling with artillery or heavy arms and firing of small arms along the Line of Control in Nowshera and Sunderbani sectors in Rajouri, around 159 km from Jammu city.
All schools and other educational institutions within 5 km distance from the LoC in Rajouri and Pooch districts are closed. The exchange of heavy fire caused panic among the border residents.
The Indian Army is firing in retaliation, the army said.
This the second round of exchange of fire between the two countries in 12 hours. Indian and Pakistani armies exchanged heavy fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district till 4:30 this morning, the the Defence Ministry said.
Heavy fire exchanges took place Rajouri's Nowshera and Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch on Tuesday too. While the cross-border skirmish lasted for over three hours in Nowshera, the firing in Krishna Ghati took place from 6 pm to 8:15 pm.
There has been a spurt in unprovoked firing by Pakistan after Indian fighter jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 following the suicide bombing by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed.
Four civilians, including three members of a family, were killed and several others injured in over 60 incidents of the violations of ceasefire by Pakistan along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch last week.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)