Army foils intrusion bid by Pak soldiers in J&K’s Poonch sector

The Army foiled an attempted intrusion by Pakistani soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch and responded swiftly to the manoeuvres from the other side of the border on Tuesday.

While there was no official statement on the incident yesterday, the Army on Wednesday said that after a mine blast close to the LoC, Pakistani soldiers opened unprovoked fire, violating the ceasefire that was “responded effectively”.

However, sources said the Pakistani soldiers, believed to be helping a group of terrorists infiltrate across the LoC, also tried to intrude into the Indian side. Jammu-based Defence PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said, “On April 1, a mine blast occurred in Krishna Ghati sector while the Pakistan army was patrolling along the LoC. This was followed by unprovoked firing and ceasefire violation by the Pakistani army. Our troops responded effectively.”

It has been learnt that mortar shells were also used by both sides to target each other’s posts. There was no report of casualty on the Indian side. As there are multiple mines planted near the LoC to thwart infiltration bids by terrorists, a mine went off presumably when a Pakistani soldier or a terrorist stepped on it.

This attracted the attention of the Indian troops. Sensing trouble, the Pakistani troops who had come close to the LoC opened fire in an attempt to escape back to their side. Reports suggested that at least two Pakistani soldiers were killed in the mine explosion. However, there was no official confirmation. The area has a thick forest cover and it sometimes become difficult to check the movement by ultras till they cross the border fence.

The incident comes amid heightened security in the region along the LoC and the International Border (IB) due to reports that terrorists might try to enter the Indian side. On February 21, the Indian and Pakistan military held a flag meeting along the LoC in Poonch district in an effort to de-escalate tension after several incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack.

The brigade-commander level flag meeting, lasting 75 minutes, had taken place in the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point area. (With PTI inputs)