Pakistan halts firing at LoC

By IANS,

Jammu : Pakistani troops have stopped firing at Indian positions on the Jammu and Kashmir border but have not agreed to a meeting with the Indian Army, officials said Thursday.


Support TwoCircles

The week-long firing that left two Indian soldiers dead and three injured in the border district of Poonch district was the longest ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in years.

An army official told IANS that though the Pakistani firing had halted for more than 48 hours, “they have not come forward to hold a flag meeting to discuss the issue with us”.

Pakistan started firing at Indian positions in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, about 240 km northwest of here, June 13.

The initial small arms fire later led to heavy and medium fire. Even mortars were fired. The Indians retaliated.

The Indian Army sought a flag meeting — which is normally held to resolve differences — but the Pakistanis cancelled a scheduled meeting June 16 without giving any reason.

An Indian officer said the Pakistani firing was probably meant to facilitate infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir.

He pointed out that a few days before the firing began, the army foiled two or three infiltration attempts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

There have been more than 250 ceasefire violations blamed on Pakistan since 2006 on the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE