Guns fall silent on Jammu IB, no ceasefire violation

Guns fell silent today after 12-day border skirmishes as BSF troops gave befitting reply to Pakistan by using equal calibre weapons in lethal retaliatory action along the International Border (IB) in Jammu frontier.

"There has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistani side from yesterday evening till this evening... Guns have fallen silent after our strong retaliation and befitting reply along IB in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts," a security official said.

A senior BSF officer said there was small arms firing of one to two rounds from Pakistan in the Samba-Hiranagar belts last evening.

"There was no shelling of mortars from across the border since yesterday morning," the officer added.

A police officer said there was no reports of any firing and shelling from across the border along the IB today.

Turning the 2003 Indo-Pak border truce "meaningless", Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing amid rocket, RPG and mortar shells attacks on border outposts for the past 12 days since October 14 resulting in killing of two jawans and injury to 31 people, including 17 civilians.

Security officials maintained that the 2003 Indo-Pak ceasefire agreement has become meaningless. There was daily firing by Pakistani troops along LoC and IB areas in Jammu and Kashmir since October 14 as was witnessed before 2003.

There has also been over 140 ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops this year, the highest in eight years.

Pakistani troops during the past 12 days indiscriminately shelled civilians living along the border with mortar bombs and rockets resulting in injuries to 17 people, mostly women and children, in Jammu and Samba sectors, officials said.

The firing and shelling also triggered migration of scores of people from border hamlets to safer areas in the region.