3 civilians injured as Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in J&K

At least three civilians were injured as Pakistan Army resorted to ceasefire violation in Karnah sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Friday.

A defence spokesperson said that Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and resorting to the shelling of mortars along the LoC in Karnah, 210 km from here, resulting in injuries to three persons. “(Indian) Army gave a befitting reply,” he added.

The injured civilians were identified as Mohammad Arif, Mohammad Yaqoob and Syed Rafaqat, who were shifted to hospital. The condition of one among them is stated to be critical.

Earlier in the day, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along the LoC in Boniyar sector of Uri in Baramulla district by resorting to unprovoked firing. As per the officials, the Pakistani troops fired small arms and mortar shells towards Indian positions in the sector. However, there was no loss of life or property reported.

There has been a huge surge in ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this year. Between January-June 2020, there have been 2,300 ceasefire violations by Pakistan against 1,321 in the same period last year. In 2019, there were around 3,168 ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

An official in the security grid said that the ceasefire violations are expected to increase in the coming months as summer is the peak infiltration period from across the LoC in J&K.

He said besides helping infiltration, Pakistani troops repeatedly target forward posts and villages along the LoC and the International Border (IB) to create fear psychosis among the people.