An army soldier was killed in a fresh ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

Reports said that the soldier was critically injured after Pakistani troops targeted forward posts and villages with mortar shells and small arms in Sunderbani sector.

The injured soldier was shifted to a nearby military hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, they said.

A defence spokesman said that the Pakistani troops targeted the sector in the early hours of Monday, prompting retaliation by the Indian Army.

The cross-border firing started around 6.30 am and continued intermittently for several hours, causing panic among the border residents. This was the second ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu region in the last three days.

On Saturday, during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the state, Pakistani troops targeted Mendhar sector of Poonch district causing bullet injuries to a civilian in Balnoi village.

Border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's preemptive airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

The constant firing and shelling along the LoC and the international border (IB) have triggered panic, prompting many families to seek shelter in safer areas.

The life for border people is much more difficult not only because of lack of facilities but especially due to the antagonistic relationship between India and Pakistan.

There is 198 km IB and over 510 km of LoC with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.