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Pak shells border posts, hamlets; BSF jawans among 7 injured

Last Updated 23 September 2017, 13:06 IST
Pakistani troops continued to target Indian forward posts and civilian areas all along the International Border (IB) in Jammu region leaving at least six people, including two paramilitary BSF troopers, injured since Friday night.

Reports said dozens of paramilitary BSF posts and forward villages were pounded by Pakistan Rangers in Arnia, RS Pura and Ramgarh sectors along the IB overnight as well as Saturday morning, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

A BSF official said that Pakistan Rangers continued with unprovoked mortar shelling and heavy automatic weapon firing in Satowai village of RS Pura leaving three civilians injured while another civilian was injured in Treva village in Arnia sector.

He said in Ramgarh sector of Samba, two BSF personnel were injured in Pakistani firing,  while in Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC) an eight-year-old boy was injured due to the shelling. The official added BSF troops retaliated effectively at all the places with equal calibrated weapons.

Following continuous ceasefire violations by Pakistan, which has several people dead and injured in the last 10 days, thousands of residents have been evacuated from border hamlets along the IB in Jammu and Samba districts to safer places.

Reports said educational institutions in the most affected areas have been closed till further orders while some educational institutes in safer places are also out of bounds of students as firing victims have been accommodated in these buildings.

Ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops have increased sharply this year and until August 1, there have been 285 such actions by the Pakistan army. Last year, the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire 2016, according to figures by the Indian Army.

Meanwhile, sources told DH Army and BSF has been put on high alert throughout the Jammu and Kashmir on the LoC and IB. “Active deployment has been beefed up along forward posts and a high alert has been sounded along the LoC and IB to foil designs of infiltration. Additional security has been put on the job.”
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(Published 23 September 2017, 04:31 IST)

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