New Delhi: Cross-border tensions escalated between India and Pakistan after the belligerent neighbour intruded into Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Tuesday. According to reports, the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire agreement by firing at Indian positions across the Line of Control (LoC).
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson was quoted in a DD News report, saying, “The violation took place at 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, and the Indian troops responded with controlled and calibrated retaliation.”
The Indian Army reacted strongly to the unprovoked firing, killing five infiltrators in the retaliatory firing, as per news reports. The firing reportedly started in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of the Poonch district. Troops of the Nangi Tekri Battalion, under the Krishna Ghati Brigade, retaliated against the intrusion.
“Indian Army reiterates the importance of upholding the tenets of 2021, understanding arrived at between the Director Generals of Military Operations of the two countries to maintain peace along the Line of Control,” the spokesperson was quoted by DD News.
According to reports, an extended “seek and destroy” operation has been underway since March 23, when five Pakistani terrorists were spotted in the Kathua district, 4 km inside the International Border. ANI reports that there was an exchange of fire earlier with terrorists in Kathua’s Panjtirthi, after which security forces intensified search and cordon operations. In an operation jointly conducted by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), surveillance and ambushes were set up in the Panjtirthi based on intelligence inputs.
