For the first time in the last 12 days peace prevailed along the line of Control (loC) for over 24 hours across frontier Poonch district as not a single round of bullet or long range mortar shell was fired by Pakistan Army to target civilian areas on the Indian side since Wednesday evening.
According to ground reports, since Wednesday evening the loC witnessed a relative calm in the frontier district.
The firing reported in Balakote, Hamirpur sectors around 1.30 pm came to a halt on Wednesday evening around 7.30 pm. Since then no ceasefire violation was reported.
Defence PRO in Jammu also confirmed that no ceasefire violation was reported from anywhere in Poonch since late Wednesday evening. Despite witnessing relative calm tension was writ large on the faces of border residents as they were not too sure how long the relative peace
would last in the area and Pakistan shelling would not shatter peace and disturb their routine life.
Since August 1, 2015 at least 47 ceasefire violations were reported in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch and the large population living along the loC was forced to leave home and shift to safer locations as hostilities peaked.
For the first time Pakistan Army escalated the tension by using 120 mm mortar shells to target the civilian areas in the forward area.
Routine incidents of ceasefire violations were reported in the first week of August as both the Armies exchanged intermittent fire. It was on August 9 when for the first time Pakistan Army lobbed 120 mm mortars on the forward Indian villages in Saujian sector triggering panic reaction among the border residents.
In the next few days tensions escalated gradually as Pakistan Army targeted civilian areas across different sectors.
Shortly after Independence Day celebrations got over on August 15 Pakistan Army intensified shelling in the Balakote area in which five civilians including two children and one elected Sarpanch and a school teacher were killed. One middle-aged woman was killed on August 16 after she was hit by a splinter while preparing food in her kitchen.
Meanwhile, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit border belt of Poonch to meet families of victims killed in the Pakistan shelling. According to JKPCC chief GA Mir, the Congress vice-president would begin his three-day visit to the State from August 26 by paying a visit to the border areas of Poonch where he is scheduled to meet families of victims killed in the firing.