Soldier killed as Pak army violates ceasefire along LoC in Rajouri

Jammu, March 21

A soldier was killed when Pakistan violated the ceasefire by heavily shelling forward areas and posts along the Line of Control with mortar bombs in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Thursday, officials said.

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire in Keri belt of Sunderbani sector this morning, they said.

The soldier was identified as 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul, a resident of Mantalai village in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The firing in Sunderbani sector continued till last reports came in, they said.

In Nowshera sector, the ceasefire violation started around 1445 hours and was going on, they said. In Akhnoor sector also, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling, they said.

The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly, they said.

Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire over 110 times along the LoC since January.

On Monday night, the Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by resorting to shelling with mortar bombs and firing of small arms along the LoC in Akhnoor and Sunderbani sectors, a defence spokesman had said.

An Army soldier was killed and four others were injured on Monday when the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing along the LoC in Rajouri district.

“Rifleman Karamjeet Singh was critically injured and later succumbed to injuries,” the spokesman had said.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India’s air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations — 2,936 — by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. PTI