Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Saturday's incident along the LoC was an outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "flip-flops and somersaults" on Pakistan.
Prayers were offered and sweets distributed though people mostly took the virtual route to extend wishes. People also visited temples, observing social distancing norms.
Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
Voicing concern at the heavy shelling in border areas, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said no one in India was in favour of war with Pakistan but friendship cannot be a one-sided affair.
"CCP's (Chinese Communist Party) territorial aggression is also apparent on its Indian border where China has attempted to seize control of the Line of Actual Control by force," US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said in a remark on China early this week in Utah.
In an address at a virtual seminar, General Rawat said the situation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh remained tense and that India's posturing has been "unambiguous".
The enhanced allowance will be applicable to all paramilitary personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and Naxal-hit areas.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing with small arms and automatic weapons on Indian posts along the Line of Control in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the army.
The year 2019 witnessed a total of 3,168 ceasefire violations against 1,629 in 2018.
India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
The remarks of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki came ahead of the 14th round of military-level talks between India and China on the 20-month row in eastern Ladakh.
Pakistani troops violated the bilateral ceasefire at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Thursday night.
Villagers along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri have been asked to shift immediately inside the bunkers in case of shelling from across the border.
The BSF commanders initially thought that the jawan was killed by a sniper shot from across the border.
Amid continuing ceasefire violations by Pakistan Army, top military officials of India and Pakistan on Tuesday discussed over the hotline the situation along the Line of Control and International Border.
Violating the ceasefire for the 10th time this month, Pakistani troops on Sunday opened heavy fire on Indian posts along the LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The gunfight erupted after the army and police jointly surrounded Bhat Mohalla area of Handwara on specific information about presence of a group of militants there.
J&K Governor N N Vohra on Friday ordered a security audit of all vital establishments and installations in Jammu and Kashmir by a multi-disciplinary team of security agencies.
India has maintained there is no scope for a third party mediation.
The DG of the ITBP said his troops have been provided with special winter clothing and nutritious food as they brave the severe chill in eastern Ladakh where the armies of India and China are locked in a tense standoff for over six months. He said 'strains in bilateral relations are already evident but we are confident these will be sorted out peacefully very shortly'.
Wang began a two-day trip to Pakistan on Tuesday primarily to attend a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a special guest.
The annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community released by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also said that the 'expanded military posture by both India and China along the disputed border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to US persons and interests and calls for US intervention'.
This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier on the LoC since October 29.
The Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan will meet each other when they feel the need for it, Defence Minister AK Antony said in New Delhi on Monday.
Outgoing Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Thursday said that India had given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops in 2013 along the Line of Control even as he did not rule out the possibility of skirmishes on the western front in future.
The stringent and rare action against Commandant Rajesh Kumar Tomar was confirmed by the ITBP director general after a general force court trial was held against him under the ITBP Force Act of 1992.
The international community must be clear that such a behaviour is unacceptable, a top US senator said.
A Border Security Force jawan and a woman were injured and two houses damaged on Saturday when Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Nowshera and Sunderbani sectors of Rajouri district with mortar bombs and small arms fire, prompting the army to give a "befitting response".
'Belgian Malinois' dogs have been extensively used by central security forces and police units in anti-Naxal operations and counter-terrorist tasks.
One person has been killed and seven injured after Pakistani troops pounded forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Saujian sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir with heavy shelling and firing, forcing the Army to retaliate.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi the need for an early resolution of all outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, and asserted that bilateral ties should be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistan on Thursday again resorted to firing on Border Out Posts along the International Border in the Samba and Jammu districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistani Army resorted to shelling of mortars besides automatic and small arms firing in forward areas along LoC in Hamirpur and Bhimbher Gali (BG) sub-sectors of Poonch district from 0630 hours, a defence spokesman said.
However, it said the high-speed facility which was restored on a trial basis in central Kashmir's Ganderbal and Jammu region's Udhampur on August 16 would continue till this month-end as there has been no report of its misuse in the two districts.
Terming frequent violations of the ceasefire as a "matter of serious concern", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed hope that the Centre would reconsider its decision of cancelling talks with Pakistan in order to end the border hostilities.
'Drone warfare has come to stay.' 'India should exploit the expected Reaper acquisition from the US to build an effective counter terror campaign,' argues Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
Naik Bakhtawar Singh was injured in the exchange of fire. He succumbed to his wounds while being evacuated to the military hospital, he said.
Sources in the security establishment said the force is also set to get sanctions from the Union Home ministry to raise at least nine fresh battalions soon. They said in order to bolster troop numbers along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, as many as 60 companies have been ordered to move towards the front in various areas like Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Addressing party MPs at the general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the central hall of Parliament, she said when facing a significant national challenge, it has been the tradition in our country to bring Parliament into confidence.
The home minister took stock of the situation and was briefed about the steps taken to maintain peace along border areas as well as in the Valley, a security official said.
