Indian troops resort to unprovoked firing along working boundary

Published July 15, 2015
Instances of unprovoked firing across the Indo-Pak border have occurred intermittently over the years. — Reuters/File
Instances of unprovoked firing across the Indo-Pak border have occurred intermittently over the years. — Reuters/File

SIALKOT: Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel on Wednesday resorted to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling across the Working Boundary in Sialkot's Bajwat sector, according to a Punjab Rangers spokesperson.

The firing commenced at 8:30am and is said to be ongoing. Pakistani troops are responding with retaliatory firing.

No casualties or loss of life have been reported so far.

Meanwhile, AP quoted D. Parekh of India's BSF as saying that Pakistani troops fired heavy mortar shells, adding that one woman was killed and three other civilians injured when one of the shells exploded near a border village.

Parekh alleged that Pakistani soldiers first fired at a paramilitary soldier guarding a border post in the Pargwal area. As troops tried to evacuate the seriously injured soldier, they came under heavy fire and retaliated.

Instances of unprovoked firing across the Indo-Pak border have occurred intermittently over the years.

In March 2015, Indian border forces opened unprovoked fire on some villages in the Charwah sector along the Working Boundary.

At the time, Pakistani officials had alleged that the Indian BSF personnel had violated the ceasefire accord and targeted civilian population.

A similar incident was also reported in January this year, when Indian BSF resorted to unprovoked intensified heavy mortar shelling on several Pakistani villages along the Working Boundary in Sialkot, killing four Pakistani civilians.

Read: Four Pakistani civilians killed in firing along India border

In December 2013, the two countries had pledged to uphold the 2003 ceasefire accord which was left in tatters by repeated violations that year. The truce breaches had put the nascent bilateral peace dialogue on hold.

The Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is the main contention, between the two countries, is divided between India and Pakistan by the UN-monitored de facto border of LoC. The territory is claimed in full by both the countries.

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