Indian Army jawan near the Line of Control.
The situation at the Line of Control or LoC in Jammu and Kashmir continues to remain tense with another ceasefire violation by Pakistan. Last night, Pakistani troops fired on forward Indian posts along the LoC in Mendhar and Hamirpur areas of Poonch district, drawing retaliation from India.
The firing went on for a couple of hours with no casualties reported so far. A senior Army official said Pakistani troops are not just targetting Indian posts, but also the villages along the Line of Control.
This is the 12th ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in a week, and 18th in 10 days.
On Thursday, Pakistan fired across the Line of Control in the Kargil and Drass sectors of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in the 14 years since the Kargil war of 1999. (
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The last two weeks have seen what the Indian Army has describes as the biggest ceasefire violation in recent months. About 28 militants have also been killed while trying to infiltrate into India under the cover of fire by the Pakistani troops in the last two months.
Pakistan has been known to favour the strategy of pushing through as many militants as possible into India before the mountain passes of the Himalayas close with the onset of winters. They use the skirmishes at the border as cover for the infiltration attempts.
The attacks also mark a complete breakdown of ceasefire with Pakistan, a month before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are expected to meet in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.