Pakistan opens fire along LoC in 4 J-K districts, India curbs attack for 6th night

Jammu: Pakistani troops opened unprovoked fire along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in multiple sectors across four districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a strong and calibrated response from Indian forces, officials said on Wednesday.

The firing, which started with small arms, was first reported from the Pargwal sector along the IB in Jammu district, and from the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors in Rajouri district.

This marks the sixth straight night of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.

"On the night of April 29-30, Pakistani Army posts initiated unprovoked small-arms fire across the LoC opposite Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhnoor sectors in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," a defence spokesperson in Jammu said. Indian troops responded swiftly and in equal measure, the spokesperson added.

Similar instances of small-arms fire were also reported from Pakistani posts facing Baramulla and Kupwara districts in the Kashmir Valley, as well as from across the IB in Jammu’s Pargwal sector.

The firing is believed to have begun in Kupwara and Baramulla and gradually spread to the Poonch and Akhnoor sectors, before escalating to Sunderbani and Naushera in Rajouri district and eventually reaching the Pargwal sector along the IB in Jammu.

Since April 24, shortly after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops have been engaging in repeated ceasefire violations across the LoC, starting in Kashmir and extending southwards.

On the same day, Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airlines, suspended trade, closed the Wagah border crossing, and warned that any Indian attempt to divert water under the Indus treaty would be treated as an "act of war".

India and Pakistan had last reaffirmed a ceasefire along the LoC in February 2021, following a joint statement by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries to uphold the 2003 agreement.

India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan, including the 2,400-km International Border stretching from Gujarat to Akhnoor, the 740-km LoC from Jammu to Leh, and the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) in the Siachen region.