Heavy shelling by Pak troops along LoC in J&K, mother-daughter duo injured

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire agreement along the LoC by resorting to intense shelling towards Indian side, they said. The Indian Army is responding to Pakistani shelling in equal measure, they added.

Srinagar: Pakistani army carried out heavy mortar shelling on forward villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir early Wednesday as Indian armed forces carried out missile attacks on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

A woman and her daughter were injured, one of them critically, when their house was hit by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district, officials said.

They said the intense shelling from across the border was reported from Krishna Ghati, Shahpur and Mankote in Poonch, Laam, Manjakote and Gambeer Brahmana in Rajouri district in Jammu region and Karnah area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, shortly after the Indian strikes,

The two civilian casualties were reported from Mankote, and efforts are on to evacuate the injured to hospital, they said.

Indian security forces guarding the border also retaliated and the cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when the last reports were received, officials said, adding the Pakistani shelling forced the people to take refuge in underground bunkers.

This was the 13th consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir, amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.

In retaliation against the horrific massacre, Indian armed forces carried out missile attacks early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur which is a major base of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.

The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor', the Indian Army said in a statement released at 1.44 am.

"A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched 'Operation Sindoor' hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed," the Army said.

"Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing artillery in Bhimber Gali in Poonch- Rajauri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner," the additional directorate general of public information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army wrote on X.

The ceasefire violations along the LoC and International Border (IB) have been very rare since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.

Since the night of April 24, just hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Pakistani troops have been resorting to unprovoked firing at various places along the LoC in J&K, starting from the Kashmir Valley.

Initially beginning with unprovoked small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir, Pakistan swiftly expanded its ceasefire violations to the Poonch sector and subsequently to the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region.

This was followed by small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri district. Subsequently, the firing spread to the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district.

The renewed ceasefire violations come despite a recent hotline conversation between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, during which the Indian side is learnt to have cautioned Pakistan.

Meanwhile, a powerful explosion was also heard in Panthiyal sub-division in Ramban district, but its exact cause was not known immediately, the officials said.