Two BSF personnel were killed and 10 civilians injured as Pakistan resorted to indiscriminate firing along the International Border in Akhnoor sector early on Sunday morning, officials said.
The fresh cross LoC sheeling started nearly a week after the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan agreed to implement the ceasefire pact of 2003 in “letter and spirit”.
According to the officials, the firing from across the border started around 3 am, wounding two BSF personnel manning a forward post. Both the personnel, later, succumbed to injuries at a hospital, the officials added.
“Pakistan side resorted to unprovoked firing by targeting forward duty points at International Border (IB) in Pragwal, causing critical injuries to assistant sub-inspector SN Yadav and constable VK Pandey,” a senior BSF officer told PTI.
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Among the injured persons, six have been identified as selection grade constable Zakir Khan, Sulakshana Devi (25), Bansi Lal (40), Balwinder Singh (22), Sudhakar Singh (50) and Vikram Singh (34).
On May 29, the DGMOs of India and Pakistan agreed to "fully implement" the ceasefire pact of 2003 in "letter and spirit" forthwith to stop border skirmishes in J&K.
The two military commanders reviewed the prevailing situation along the LoC and the IB in Jammu and Kashmir during a conversation over the special hotline.
The hotline contact was initiated by the Pakistani DGMO.
Following the conversation between Indian DGMO Lt Gen Anil Chauhan and Pakistan's Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the two armies issued identical statements saying both sides agreed to implement the 15-year-old ceasefire understanding.
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The latest deaths in the Pakistani firing raised the casualty figure during ceasefire violations along the IB and the Line of Control (LoC) in the state to 46.The dead includes 20 security personnel.
Last month, thousands of people residing along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts had to flee their homes following intense shelling from Pakistan between May 15 and May 23 which left 12 people dead, including two BSF jawans and an infant, and scores of others injured.
After the DGMOs of the two countries spoke to each other, hope rekindled among border residents who had started returning to their homes but the latest incident triggered fresh concerns among them and the people in the affected areas started fleeing their homes.
(With PTI inputs)
