Indian, Pak soldiers exchange sweets

Mendhar/Jammu, November 13

Soldiers exchanged sweets with their Pakistani counterparts on the occasion of Diwali on Sunday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of J&K, officials said. However, there was no traditional exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two sides along the international border, the officials said, attributing it to the tense situation following the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers that left a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan dead.

A BSF jawan was killed in Pakistan Rangers firing in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district during the intervening night of November 8 and 9, the first loss of life on this side after the renewed ceasefire was agreed upon by the two countries on February 25, 2021. Earlier, two BSF personnel and a woman were injured in cross-border firing in the Arnia sector of Jammu on October 26.

However, the officials said soldiers exchanged sweets to mark Diwali at Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch district. Sweets and greetings were also exchanged at Tatapani crossing in Balnoi, Poonch.

In Samba district, a team of civil officials celebrated Diwali with BSF troops. Samba’s ADC Suresh Sharma, along with tehsildars of Kalsotra, Samba and Rajpura tehsils, distributed sweets and greeted the jawans with warm wishes during a visit to the forward border outposts.