In a statement, the ministry of external affairs said India also condemned, in the strongest terms, the "deliberate targeting" of innocent civilians by Pakistani forces, saying it was highly deplorable that Pakistan chose a festive occasion in India to disrupt peace and perpetrate violence in Jammu and Kashmir through coordinated firing along the the LoC.
'The interesting point about the choice of the area for the surgical strikes is that it is the most sensitive part of the Line of Control,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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.
As per reports, Pakistan has fired 3000-4000 mortar shells targeting Indian villages and border towns in which 12 people have been killed.
Batting at No. 9, Wahab Riaz struck a quickfire half-century before he returned to claim four wickets with the ball to lift Pakistan to a narrow 20-run victory.
Stepping up its attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan has written to the UN chief on the security situation along the LoC and the International Border with India and sought the world body's intervention in resolving the issue.
The IED that pierced the rooftop of one of the IAF buildings at the Jammu airport carried less than one kg of RDX and a cocktail of other chemicals whereas the one that was dropped on the ground contained a little over one kg of the deadly explosives along with some ball bearings.
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India and Pakistan will hold a flag meeting at the Brigade Commander level at Chakan De Bagh crossing in the Poonch district on Monday to address the issue of ceasefire violations on the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir.
There was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, he 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.
24-year-old Rifleman Yash Paul, a resident of Mantalai village in Udhampur lost his life in cross-LoC firing.
The soldier, manning a forward post, was killed in the firing from across the border in Shahpur-Kerni area of Poonch sector, an Army official said.
Blood splattered compounds, smashed window panes and demolished roofs are all that are left of houses in border hamlets which have been battered in Pakistani firing and shelling in the last three days.
Pakistani army violated the ceasefire again on Monday by shelling forward posts and civilian areas along the Lien of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing retaliation from the Indian side.
Intense bidding is expected to be the order of the day when 10 teams jostle to grab their preferred players in the IPL players' auction in Kochi on Friday.
New Delhi's decision not to call for a flag meeting underlines its conviction that the military cost will soon become too high for Pakistan.
The heavy shelling took place in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts.
The infant, his mother Fatima Jan, 35 and another civilian Mohammad Arif were injured when mortar shells fired by Pakistan hit their village in Shahpur sector late on Sunday.
With no let up in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India should "respond in kind" if these persist and BSF asked its men to retaliate strongly while Army said it is prepared to deal with any situation.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
'Indian troops responded strongly to the enemy fire'
Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was "very heavy" in 2019, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce "redundant", officials said.
Firing from across the border took place in several areas along the Line of Control and the International Border, drawing effective retaliation from the Indian troops, the officials said.
'Just this week, the Indians killed a Kashmiri terrorist, who is a member of Hizbul Mujahideen.' 'This is a nasty terrorist organisation, and did Pakistan welcome this killing?' 'No, in fact, they denounced it and referred to him as a Kashmiri separatist.' 'These Kashmiri terrorist groups have been aided by the Pakistani State.'
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 Indian retaliation came after Pakistani forces resorted to heavy shelling in several areas in north Kashmir, killing five security personnel and six civilians. A number of videos released by the Indian Army showed destruction of several Pakistani positions and bunkers across the LoC with some of them going up in flames following the Indian retaliation.
Contending that the ceasefire agreement was more important for Pakistan as it is desperately trying to come out of the "grey list" of the Financial Action Task Force, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sincerity of Islamabad could have been gauged if they had dismantled the terror infrastructure.
Breaching ceasefire, Pakistani troops targeted forward posts and civilian areas in Poonch district along the Line of Control for the second day on Thursday.
The Pakistani army had shelled the brigade headquarters and other Indian military formations in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch on October 23.
The attack left two Indian soldiers dead while one BAT member was killed in retaliatory action by Indian troops.
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The Indian army personnel responded to the ceasefire violation in adequate measure, the sources said.
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.
Five other civilians injured as Pak troops shelled border out posts along the IB.
Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was "very heavy" in 2018, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce "redundant", said officials.
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.
'The fact that this happened and the fact that we were not able to bring it down, we were not even able to trace from where it came from and where it went, certainly raises questions on our level of preparedness.'
A defence spokesperson said the Indian Army retaliated 'effectively and strongly' to the ceasefire violation in Keran sector in Kupwara district this afternoon, with precision targeting of gun areas, terrorist launchpads and ammunition dump across the LoC.
The Indian Army retaliated effectively, injuring two Pakistani jawans, defence sources said.
Authorities in Rajouri district evacuated 217 students and 15 teachers from three schools.
