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.
A top army official said on Tuesday that the assaults were carried out recently as Pakistani posts were supporting infiltration inside India.
Pakistani troops on Friday resorted to mortar shelling and firing on the Line of Control in Jammu district, the second ceasefire violation in two days ahead of a crucial meeting of the Directors General of Military Operations of the two sides aimed at easing tensions along the ceasefire line.
Khan took strong exception to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) allegations against him and said the spokesperson of the army's military wing was not even born when he represented Pakistan in the world.
In continued ceasefire violations, Pakistani troops resorted to night-long firing and mortar shelling targeting six Border Out Posts along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu district, forcing the Border Security Force to retaliate effectively.
On February 24, India and Pakistan released a joint statement saying that they have held discussions regarding establishing a mechanism for hotline contact among both nations.
There has been a spurt in Pakistani shelling along the border in Jammu and Kashmir this year with over 2,027 cases of violation of a ceasefire agreement being reported till June 10.
Pakistani troops continued breaching the ceasefire along the LoC for the fourth successive day on Saturday by resorting to unprovoked firing and shelling, while two persons have been injured and several houses damaged in Jammu region overnight due to the violation.
Six Pakistani nationals languishing in Indian prisons, including an 11-year-old boy, were Monday repatriated to their country through the Indo-Pak Wagah joint check post.
The interim government in Pakistan's Punjab province on Wednesday claimed that some '30 to 40' terrorists are hiding at the Lahore residence of former prime minister Imran Khan, giving him an ultimatum of 24 hours to hand them over or face stern action.
'The senior army leadership has no interest in reconciling with Imran Khan, and no interest in seeing him return to power.'
Talks between the two sides were last held in December, 2013, in Lahore.
Asserting that the militants on the other side of the international border are enjoying the support of Pakistani forces during infiltration bids, the Border Security Force on Friday lodged a strong protest with its Pakistani counterpart over the ceasefire violation and infiltration bids in Jammu."The BSF has lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers at Border Outpost on the international border in Jammu frontier over an attempt to push in ultras," officials said.
A Pakistani judge on Saturday cancelled former premier Imran Khan's arrest warrants in the Toshakhana corruption case and allowed him to go home without indicting him, amidst clashes between his supporters and police outside the court complex in Islamabad.
Fear and uncertainty have returned to haunt the residents in areas along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir, where heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan Rangers has triggered migration.
Scores of churches and homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad district, some 130 km from the provincial capital, were burnt down on Wednesday by a mob enraged over reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said in a statement that Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale was called to hand over a letter of invitation for talks.
Pakistani rangers violated ceasefire on Thursday again by firing on 13 border outposts in Samba sector, drawing retaliation from the Border Security Force.
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.
The BSF said the force was retaliating with "pinpointed" fire which destroyed firing positions, mortar launching pads and ammunition and fuel dumps of the Pakistan Rangers at multiple places.
Amid repeated ceasefire violations along the international border, the border guards of India and Pakistan on Tuesday held a flag meeting at a forward border outpost in Jammu sector.
The two sides, sources said, also agreed to stop ceasefire violations along the International Border "through enhanced communication via multiple modes at all possible levels".
Pakistan troops also fired on forward posts and civilian areas last night in Rajouri.
'Despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India, Pakistan Rangers did not stop their nefarious activities against India and carried on with their ill motives on IB in Jammu'
'The BSF and other forces will undertake a counter-action at a suitable time'
In an escalation of cross-border military confrontation, 8 civilians were on Tuesday killed and 22 injured in Jammu region due to Pakistani shelling, prompting a strong retaliation by the Indian army in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed and 14 posts were destroyed.
"BSF troops observed a Pakistani intruder who crossed the IB and attempted to sneak over the fence. He was challenged but he still crossed the fence and ran towards the other side."
The pole, which is already in place, is said to be visible from a long distance, even from Lahore in Pakistan.
Pakistani troops targeted over 60 hamlets and scores of border posts in heavy overnight shelling in Kathua and Samba districts, with mortar bombs landing deep inside Indian territory.
Heavy artillery firing also left a trooper dead across the border, it said.
Pakistani troops shelled mortars and opened heavy fire on 10 Border Out Posts along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving two security personnel injured.
The Pakistani army again violated the ceasefire on Tuesday by firing on forward areas along the Line of Control in Poonch district, prompting Indian troops to retaliate.
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Stepping up the campaign against terrorists, Pakistani security forces killed at least 67 militants in a countrywide swoop on Friday, taking the number of insurgents killed to 124 after the brutal Peshawar school massacre that left 148 people dead.
Sharma added that while there is "tension" at the border that runs along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, there has been no ceasefire violation till now in these areas.
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.
The director general-level talks between border forces of India and Pakistan kicks off on Thursday days after parleys between their national security advisers were cancelled with the host nation set to flag the "most important" issue of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration.
The casualty comes barely a week after multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in north Kashmir left 11 people, including five security personnel, dead on November 13.
At least four Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed as unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire at a security check post near a Sunni Mosque in Karachi during Friday prayers.
There was no report of any casualty in the latest ceasefire violation which came a day after a personnel of the Indian Army was killed and three others including two women were injured in separate ceasefire violations by Pakistan in Rajouri and Poonch districts.
The official said the firing and mortar shelling from the Pakistani side started around 1 am and continued for over four-and-a-half hours.
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