Heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistani troops continued unabated along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday killing two more people -- both women -- even as a "massive" reply was being given from the Indian side.
Border Security Force has lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers over ceasefire violation in forward areas of Poonch and Kathua districts along the Indo-Pak border, in which a BSF jawan and a civilian were injured.
This is the first such incident in Jammu region when a drone carrying arms and explosives was shot down by the BSF, frustrating Pakistan's attempt to smuggle weapons into the Union Territory using the hexacopter.
Stepping up ceasefire violations, Pakistan on Friday resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing on several BSF posts along the Indo-Pak border in Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing a strong retaliation from India which killed two Pakistan Rangers.
Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire by resorting to firing by small arms on Indian posts along the international border in Jammu district, prompting the Border Security Force to retaliate.
With no let up in the ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the International Border in the Jammu region, the state government is formulating a contingency plan to deal with the situation.
"Border Security Force detects a tunnel along the international border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua. "More details awaited," officials said.
The J-K top cops also said less than 200 militants are currently active in Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest shelling from across the border started in the Qasba and Kirni sectors along the LoC in Poonch district at 1.40 pm, prompting a befitting retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.
The BSF troops were carrying out border domination along the IB, when snipers of Pakistan Rangers opened fire on them around 1050 hours in Hiranagar-Samba sector of Kathua district, said a senior BSF officer.
An Indian Army jawan was killed and two others were injured when a group of militants opened fire along the Line of Control in the Pallanwala sector of Jammu.
The Congress said the foot march, being led by party leader Rahul Gandhi, will proceed according to its schedule and reach Jammu on Monday afternoon.
The Border Security Force on Wednesday said Pakistan's border guarding force was deliberately targeting civilian areas and its Army directly supporting the troops in the shelling on these areas and Indian posts along the International Border.
This is the first time that suicide attackers have adopted this tactic.
The mortar shelling and small arms firing from across the border was intense in Shahpur, Kirni and Qasba sectors along the LoC in Poonch district.
The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the Line of Control. Over 700 such incidents were reported this year, which have left more than 44 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.
Stepping up ceasefire violations, Pakistani Rangers on Friday night resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing on 8 BSF posts along the Indo-Pak border in Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing a strong retaliation from the Indian side.
Constable Devender Singh was hit by a stray bullet through the loophole of his picket and could not survive the injury.
With this, the number of ceasefire violations along the IB and the LoC in the state after surgical strikes by the Indian Army in PoK has risen to 31.
Four weapons and some ammunition and explosives have been recovered from the spot.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani Rangers on Thursday night resorted to small arms firing on border out-posts along the international border in Jammu, prompting BSF to retaliate.
Four Pakistani rangers were killed in Border Security Force's strong retaliation after a jawan of the force lost his life in heavy firing from the other side on a patrol on Wednesday along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.
The cross-border firing has forced many to take shelter in government-run camps.
The driver and the cleaner of the truck escaped when the truck was stopped by police and CRPF personnel. But the occupants opened fire. One terrorist was killed in retaliatory fire. 2 others who escaped were neutralised later.
As thousands of civilians affected by the Pakistani shelling in the RS Pura sector thronged to shelter camps, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accompanied by his team went on to inspect the lodging facilities and quality of food provided to them.
The JeM terrorists also carried 'armoured piercing steel core ammunition' which can go through Level 3 protection bulletproof vehicles that police and other security forces use, they said. The ammunition was in large quantity and could have posed a grave threat, top police officials said.
Firing mortar shells and using automatic weapons, Pakistani troops targeted civilian areas and forward security posts along the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu, Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Two army jawans and a woman were killed while 11 people were injured as Pakistani troops targetted villages and security posts at various places in Jammu and Kashmir since Friday night which triggered migration of hundreds of people from some border areas.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde arrived in Jammu for a day's visit on Tuesday to review the security situation in the wake of the increased ceasefire violations on the International Border by Pakistan.
12 security personnel, including three officers, were also injured in the operation at Reasi.
Corps Commander Lt Gen K J S Dhillon of the Chinar Corps also requested mothers of Kashmiri militants to persuade their sons to surrender.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced a judicial probe into the September 7 Shopian incident in which four youth were allegedly killed in paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force firing.
'India's policy makers need to pull their heads out of the sand and recognize the reality that Pakistan has supported and sponsored terrorism on Indian soil for more than three decades; a national counter-terrorism strategy must be evolved in the fullest consciousness of this fact, and of the continued hostility of the Pakistani nation-State to the very idea of India.'
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