Pak troops open fire on border post in North Kashmir

Wed, May 14 08:41 PM

Srinagar/Islamabad, May 14 (PTI) In the first violation of the five-year-old ceasefire, Pakistani troops opened unprovoked firing on an Indian border post in Tangdhar region in North Kashmir last night but no casualty was reported. Using heavy machine guns and heavy mortars, Pakistani troops targeted a forward Indian post in the Tangdhar area with over 50 to 60 rounds, the sources said.

"This was not a cover firing for any attempt to push in terrorists. It was targeted straight at the forward Indian post," the sources said.

About 8 to 10 mortar bombs fired at the post fell well short of it and there were no causalities. It was a major violation of the ceasefire by the troops on the Line of Control which has been in force since December 2003, army sources in New Delhi said.

The firing by Pakistani troops from across the LoC comes close on the heels of Pakistani Rangers breaching the ceasefire on the international border in Samba sector earlier this week. The Army has proposed a flag meeting with its Pakistani counterparts to take up the issue of unprovoked firing.

Border Security Force personnel and Pakistani Rangers traded heavy fire near the international border in Samba sector a few days back. The Rangers gave cover fire to a big group of Pakistani terrorists trying to sneak into Indian territory.

In Islamabad, Pakistan denied its troops had fired on the Indian border post. "Indian military authorities have been informed that no incident of firing from (the Pakistan side) side of LoC took place as claimed", a spokesman of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence said.

PTI.

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