Tensions rise as Pakistani troops violate ceasefire for 8th night; residents near LoC ready bunkers

Jammu: Pakistani troops on Thursday opened unprovoked fire along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five Jammu and Kashmir districts.

“During the night of May 1-2, 2025, Pakistani Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire from posts across the LoC opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Naushera, and Akhnoor areas of Jammu and Kashmir,” a defence spokesperson in Jammu said. "Indian Army troops responded in a calibrated and proportionate manner," the spokesperson added.

This marks the eighth consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the LoC, amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.

Civilians living along the LoC and IB have begun cleaning community and individual bunkers to make them habitable in case the situation escalates to shelling, reported PTI.

Initially beginning with unprovoked small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir, Pakistan swiftly expanded its ceasefire violations to the Poonch sector and subsequently to the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region.

This was followed by small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri district. Subsequently, the firing expanded to the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district.

The renewed ceasefire violations come despite a recent hotline conversation between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, during which the Indian side is learnt to have cautioned Pakistan.

On April 24, just hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops have been resorting to unprovoked firing at various places along the LoC in J&K, starting from the Kashmir Valley.

Pakistan later blocked its airspace for Indian airlines, closed the Wagah border crossing, suspended all trade with India, and warned that any attempt to divert water would be considered an "Act of War."

The ceasefire along the borders was reaffirmed in February 2021, when both countries agreed to observe the 2003 agreement in letter and spirit. However, the current situation marks a significant departure from the relative calm that has been maintained since then.