RAWALPINDI: No respite in the ongoing tensions along the borders between Pakistan and India as both sides exchanged bullets even on Tuesday; a day after Indian firing killed seven Pakistani soldiers in Bhimber sector along the line of control (LoC).
Early on Tuesday at around 4:50 am, Indian forces opened indiscriminate firing along the working boundary in Thalkian sector in an overnight assault, confirmed Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
It said, in a reply to the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) aggression, Pakistani forces gave a befitting response to the neighbouring rival country.
Violations of a ‘2003 ceasefire’ on the de facto border by India have been frequent in the last two months, killing and injuring several Pakistanis and soldiers.
Must Read: Indian cross-border fire across LoC kills seven Pakistani soldiers, says ISPR
At least seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on Sunday night during another fatal cross-border firing incident across the LoC.
“Seven soldiers embraced Shahadat (martyrdom) at the LoC in the Bhimber sector in cross-fire LoC violation by Indian troops late last night,” the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said in a statement, and added, “Pakistani troops while responding to Indian unprovoked firing targeted Indian posts effectively.”
The FO Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria condemned the continuous firing in his tweet and said, “Pakistan Army responding in a befitting manner. We salute our valiant soldiers who render ultimate sacrifices for the national cause.”
Also Read: India breached agreement, used artillery fire after 13 years, says DG ISPR
Tension between Pakistan and India has been high since July, when Indian forces killed a young Kashmiri fighter in Indian-held Kashmir, prompting months of protests and a security crackdown that has claimed several lives.
Both countries claim Kashmir but administer separate parts, divided by a de facto border. Since independence from the British in 1947, they have fought two of their three wars over the territory.
Tension ratcheted further in September, when 18 Indian soldiers were killed at an army base in Indian-held Kashmir, in an attack Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. However, Pakistan denied that it was involved in that attack.
India later claimed it had carried out ‘surgical strikes’ on militant bases across the border, a claim Pakistan dismissed as ‘an illusion’.
Recently, both countries expelled each others’ diplomats and named a number of others as being involved in spying.
