Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
Pakistani troops have been using every opportunity to spy on the Indian side using UAVs or cameras along the border, a BSF officer said on Saturday.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Friday that the ceasefire with India was holding and the country is committed to it. He also said that Pakistan is committed to making the ceasefire hold and de-escalation succeed, and then engagement to lead to stability and resolution of issues. Khan said that the two militaries have a channel of communication through the Directors General of Military Operations, through which they are working for de-escalation, in terms of the movement of troops. He added that Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire announced on May 10 and lately, both sides have taken steps for de-escalation and return of stability.
Raj Kumar Thapa, additional district development commissioner, Rajouri, and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in Rajouri town, the officials said.
In the India-Pakistan situations, off-ramps have come either through foreign mediation (after months of kinetic warfare over Kargil, and a long stand-off with Op Parakram) or when a situation made it possible for both sides to claim a win, explains Shekhar Gupta.
The two sides called for bringing "much needed peace" on the border in the wake of recent exchanges of heavy fire.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has scaled down the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The BSF's Punjab frontier said it was suspending the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with the counterpart and the border gates will remain closed during the ceremony. The move is seen as a response to the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed.
Such violations have not been very common since India and Pakistan agreed for a renewed ceasefire along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir on February 20, 2021.
The United States on Thursday said it supports India's right to defend itself and its fight against terrorism as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dialled Defence Minister Rajnath Singh amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistani troops on Thursday resorted to firing on a post in Swajian sector of Poonch district without causing any damage to the Indian side, official sources said in Jammu. Pakistani Rangers deployed at Kanari fired across the Line of Control on an Indian outpost in Swajian sector in the early hours, sources said, adding Border Security Force troops deployed in the area maintained restraint.
The casualties were reported hours before India and Pakistan agreed to end hostilities, which soared after the Indian Armed Forces hit terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir earlier this week in response to the Pahalgam attack.
Several households along the IB sustained damages in the overnight mortar-shelling from across the border, local residents said.
The locals in Gharna village in Jammu and Kashmir's RS Pura sector are petrified following yet another ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops.
An Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was killed in an encounter with terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The terrorists' infiltration attempt was thwarted, but the JCO succumbed to injuries sustained during the encounter. This incident comes after a recent brigade commander-level flag meeting between India and Pakistan to discuss border management, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, protesting the killing of soldiers in BSF firing and seeking an immediate probe into the incident.
No casualties were reported on the Indian side even as the BSF has decided to lodge a "protest" with their Pakistani counterparts and have sought a flag meeting on Saturday.
Constable Bijender Bahadur was on duty at forward point along the fence in Arnia sector along the IB when Pakistani Rangers resorted to mortar shelling and small arms fire at about 0020 hours on Friday.
The BSF troops retaliated, resulting in exchange of fire, which was still going on when last reports came in.
India registered its protest at the board of IMF, which met on Friday to review the EFF lending programme for Pakistan.
The incident took place on the intervening night of April 8-9 near Dorangla village in Gurdaspur district. The Border Security Force (BSF) has issued an "alert" all along the 553 km of this front in Punjab and suspension of farming around the blast area.
The ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan has seen a decline in attendance following the early exit of the Pakistani cricket team and the start of Ramadan.
A senior Border Security Force official said that Pakistan Rangers had resorted to heavy firing using small arms and few mortar shells in the in the Kanachak and Pargwal sectors.
IAF Flying Officer Jawahar Lal Bhargava was forced to stayed in the POW camp at Rawalpindi for the year that followed only to be released in December 1972.
Hours before United States President Barack Obama's arrival in India, Pakistani Rangers resorted to small arms firing along the International Border in Jammu district, forcing the Border Security Force to retaliate.
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.
Unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers has marred dozens of weddings in villages along the International Border in Jammu with many forced to make last-minute changes to some rituals as well.
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.
Pakistani troops have been firing at Indian posts in the Arnia and RS Pura sectors along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir in what is the third ceasefire violation in the last 24 hours.
"Assistant Sub Inspector of BSF A K Upadhayay was injured when a shell exploded near him in RS Pura sector. He received splinter injures in his hand", a BSF spokesman said.
There have been more than 60 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC and IB in the state since surgical strikes against terror launch pads by the Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The sector commanders of the BSF and Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting, after a gap of about seven months
Pakistan rangers on Sunday opened fire on Indian border posts after objecting to construction by Border Security Force on the Indian side in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
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.
The exchange of the list took place under the provisions of an agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, the ministry of external affairs said.
Constable Tapan Mondal of BSF succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani Rangers on Thursday resorted to unprovoked firing on forward Indian posts along the Indo-Pakistan border in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
This was the first time that sweets were exchanged between the two forces after the abrogation of Article 370 as the Pakistani side refused to continue with the custom, they said, adding after the developments of August 2019, the offer of exchanging sweets was made by the BSF but the Pakistani side did not reciprocate.
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.
Pakistani rangers violated ceasefire on Thursday again by firing on 13 border outposts in Samba sector, drawing retaliation from the Border Security Force.
GK Bansal, additional director general of the BSF, was quoted by a private television channel, as saying that Pakistani Rangers were building embankments, bunkers and observation towers and said that this was too close for comfort, as they were just 10 to 15 meters from the international border.
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