Army jawan killed in Pakistani firing along Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir

An army jawan was killed when Pakistani troops resorted to yet another ceasefire violation from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.

An official said Pakistan army resorted to firing and shelling in Kamal area along the LoC shortly after midnight at around 12:30 am in which Havaldar S Gurung sustained multiple splinter injuries.

“He was shifted to a medical facility but he succumbed,” he said and added the body of slain army man has been brought to Nowshera for medico-legal formalities.

This is the sixth killing of soldiers along the LoC in Rajouri and neighbouring Poonch districts in Pakistan shelling since June. Last month, India lost five soldiers along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri sectors.

On Wednesday, a 60-year-old woman was killed while another was critically injured after Pakistan targeted forward areas with mortars along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.

There has been a huge surge in ceasefire violations (CVFs) by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this year with over 410 instances reported in June only. Official data reveals there have been over 2,300 ceasefire violations along the LoC this year. A total of 3,168 CFVs were recorded in 2019, and 1,629 in 2018.

The government of India led by then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had entered into a border ceasefire agreement with Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on November 26, 2003. However, according to officials, shelling and firing by Pakistani troops since last year is so heavy that virtually it has made the 2003 truce redundant.

India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LoC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.