A huge cache of arms and ammunition and 'war-like stores', including AK-74 rifles, Pakistani-origin hand grenades and balloons with 'I Love Pakistan' markings, were recovered along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, an Army officer said on Friday.
Jammu and Kashmir police officials were fired upon from across the border as they were returning after collecting the remains of the Pakistani intruder killed in an improvised explosive device blast along the LoC in Poonch sector.
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The Indian Army must be given a free hand to retaliate punitively at one or more places of its choosing on the LoC. The aim should be to cause maximum damage to the forward posts of the Pakistan army, particularly those through which recent attacks have been launched, thereby raising the cost for the army, says Gurmeet Kanwal.
Army officials said one of the four attackers had infiltrated using the gaps along the fence near Salamabad nallah and erected a ladder on the Indian side of the fence, while the other three had a ladder on their side.
Government will bring a resolution in Parliament against the one passed by Pakistan's National Assembly accusing Indian troops of "unprovoked aggression" on the Line of Control.
For India, it is a symbol of will and a successful feat of arms.
Army said the duo was recruited two years ago by JeM and was guiding terrorists to infiltrate across the LoC.
Pakistan on Tuesday held a detailed briefing for Islamabad-based foreign diplomats on the tension along the border with India, as part of efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level.
Pakistan in its proposals sent to India identified five crossing points-- Tangdhar-Tithwal, Uri-Chakoti, Uri-Hajipeer, Poonch-Rawlakot and Mendhar-Tattapani.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed on Saturday claimed that he had not visited areas along the Line of Control shortly before a recent spurt in violations of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. "I did not visit the LoC where the Indian soldiers were killed," Saeed, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, said in a statement.
On Sunday, a civilian was killed and two persons were injured in the Pakistani shelling along the IB in Kanachak belt of Jammu district, raising the death toll in the ceasefire violations since Thursday last to 12 and injuries to over 60.
Officials said the infiltration attempt by three suspected terrorists was foiled in Shahpur sector around 2.15 am when troops guarding the LoC picked up their movement and engaged them in a gunfight.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar gave this information to the Parliamentary Committee on Exernal Affairs.
A top army official said on Tuesday that the assaults were carried out recently as Pakistani posts were supporting infiltration inside India.
The blast killed the officer and injured a soldier who was evacuated to hospital.
'Knowing him personally, I can safely say that the usually soft-spoken, qualified medical doctor would not have said what he was 'caught' saying if only he had realised that he was stepping on a political landmine across the emotional LoC, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Pakistani troops on violated the ceasefire again and resorted to firing along LoC in Poonch district in which one woman suffered injuries.
The Pakistan army on Wednesday claimed "unprovoked" Indian firing across the Line of Control in Kashmir had killed one of its officers and injured a soldier.
Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was summoned to the foreign office and was told that 'intentional targeting of innocent civilians is highly condemnable'
Forced to leave their hamlets and cattle, the border residents want the Narendra Modi government to take strong action against Pakistan so that it does repeat the terror attacks and ceasefire violations along LoC.
Army troops noticed some suspicious movement along the LoC and laid an ambush in Tangdhar, 175 km from Srinagar, a defence spokesman said.
Indian Army sources said Pakistan Army is using Kashmiris in PoK as cannon fodder and Indian security forces are ready to deal with any eventualities along the LoC.
The infiltration bid was scuttled in Balakot sector on Saturday evening and a massive search operation is still underway, the spokesman said.
A group of three to four terrorists crossed the LoC in a forward area of Keri sub-sector of Rajouri district on Saturday afternoon, a senior army official said, adding that as they reached between the LoC and border fencing, alert troops laid a cordon in the area and launched an operation to track them down. This is the sixth infiltration bid by terrorists along the LoC in the past ten days and the third such attempt in Keri sub-sector.
The Deputy High Commissioner was summoned by Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs Rudrendra Tandon in South Block and delivered a strong diplomatic message, sources said.
Six armed foreign militants were killed on Monday and three armymen lost their lives in a fierce gunbattle that broke out along the Line of Control in Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Media sources identified the soldiers, who belonged to the 21 Bihar Unit, as Naik Prem Nath Singh, Lance Naik Shambhu Saran Ray, Vyay Kumar Ray, Raghunandan Prasad and Naik Pundalik Mane
The drone was spotted at Bachiwind village near the international border at 3.21 am on Saturday.
Trucks detained on either side of the LoC following a drug haul from POK last month, on Wednesday, crossed over ending a month long standoff.
In another ceasefire violation in less than 24 hours, Pakistani troops on Monday night fired on Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
Army on said militant activities at the launching pads across the Line of Control have not died down but the troops are ready to face the challenge.
Over 40 km of the three-tier border fencing and flood-lighting have been damaged by the recent floods along the LoC and IB in Jammu and Kashmir and security forces are racing against time to repair it to prevent cross-border infiltration ahead of winters.
Two army soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an ambush in the Mendhar sector of Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu region on Tuesday evening. A defence spokesman in Jammu confirmed two soldiers had been killed and three others wounded when the vehicle they were travelling in came under fire near the LoC.
Last month, two Army personnel and a 10-day-old baby were killed and several civilians injured in heavy Pakistani shelling and firing in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region.
"During the Congress regime, the news headlines were of India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. Some of our friends in media used to clap after such any such dossier was sent," Modi said at an election rally in Maharashtra's Latur.
A large quantity of weapons, including AK-47 rifles and mines with Pakistan-marking were recovered from the slain terrorist.
Pakistan on Wednesday claimed a civilian was killed and his daughter injured due to "unprovoked" firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control.
Traders continue to highlight problems faced by them in the absence of banking facilities and foreign exchange transactions. "It is purely a medieval barter system. We sent goods across valued at a certain amount and receive in turn goods for the same value from the traders in Muzaffarbad," said a local trader.
Avalanches in Kashmir have caused extensive damage to the fencing along the LoC in the Valley, posing a fresh challenge to the anti-infiltration grid, the army said on Saturday.
The Hamirpur and Sabzian sectors in Poonch have been targeted by Pakistan troops for the past 3 days, possibly to facilitate infiltration from across the border.
