Pakistan resorts to unprovoked firing along LoC, IB in four J&K districts; Army retaliates

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This incident marks the sixth consecutive night of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.

The firing, which began with small arms, was reported from the Pargwal sector along the IB in Jammu district, as well as the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors in Rajouri district.

"On the night of April 29-30, Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small-arms fire across the Line of Control opposite the Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhnoor sectors in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir," stated a defence spokesperson.

The Indian Army troops responded swiftly and proportionately, the spokesperson added.

Similar incidents of unprovoked small-arms fire were also reported from Pakistani posts across the LoC in Baramulla and Kupwara districts in the Kashmir Valley, and across the IB in the Pargwal sector.

The firing initially commenced in Kupwara and Baramulla districts before spreading to the Poonch and Akhnoor sectors. It further escalated to the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors in Rajouri district, followed by firing along the IB in Jammu's Pargwal sector.

This marks the first instance of an exchange of fire at the International Border since last week. Previous incidents had largely been confined to the LoC sectors in both the Jammu and Kashmir regions.

Locals in the Pargwal sector reported that the firing occurred late on Tuesday night and ceased after some time. They noted that the area has witnessed an exchange of fire after several years.

Since the night of April 24, shortly after India reportedly suspended the Indus Water Treaty in response to the killing of 26 people in the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops have engaged in unprovoked firing at various locations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, starting from the Kashmir Valley.

In the Kashmir Valley, officials stated that an alert has been issued in the border areas, and security has been heightened in the towns. They added that checkpoints have been established, and frisking has been intensified in the border towns in response to the ongoing border tensions.

India and Pakistan had agreed to a renewed ceasefire in February 2021 when the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the 2003 ceasefire agreement.