Indian Army on Friday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over recent incidents of cross-LoC firing at a Brigade Commander level Flag meeting that took place along the line of control near the Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch.

The flag meeting took place in the backdrop of a sharp increase in the incidents of cross-border firing, desperate sniping, and attempts by Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) to breach Indian defences since the beginning of this month.

A Brigadier rank officer from Poonch led a team of army officers during the flag meeting with their Pakistani counterparts.

The Indian Army Officers delivered a clear message to their counterparts that the Indian Army will not hesitate to take aggressive action in the face of any provocation.

The meeting, according to official sources, lasted a little over one hour during which  Indian army officers also shared their serious concerns over rising incidents of firing and the use of Pakistani territory to target Indian army personnel on patrol duty.

According to official sources, Two Indian Army personnel, including a captain, sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and another was injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack carried out by suspected terrorists in the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region on February 11.

Two army personnel were also injured in separate incidents of small arms firing from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on February 10 and 14, while two more army personnel were injured in separate landmine explosions in Poonch in the past week.

At the peak of hostilities in February 2021, India and Pakistan reaffirmed their ceasefire agreement along the LoC to defuse the escalating tensions.  Peace prevailed along the 740 km long Line of Control for about four years.

The Indian army released no official statement after the Flag Meeting was over. However, sources revealed the Indian army asserted its position and reiterated its resolve to maintain peace and tranquility along the LoC. To thwart any fresh infiltration bid from across the line of control in areas south of Pir Panjal region the Indian army has been kept on high alert.

In addition, a joint team of security forces including special operations group of Jammu and Kashmir police and jawans of central paramilitary forces has been conducting massive combing and search operations in the upper reaches of Jammu Hills to neutralize Pakistani terrorists who may have been hiding in the cave-like structures inside the thickly forested areas. Additional troops have been inducted in the region to plug the gaps and beef up the security grid across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.