Pakistan on Saturday escalated its ceasefire violations by targeting the loC in the Tangdhar sector in Jammu & Kashmir killing two Army jawans and injuring two others. This, even as it continued to target villages and border outposts on the International Border (IB) since Friday killing a woman and injuring over a dozen other civilians.
The heavy mortar shelling has triggered a migration from border villages during the harsh winter days and over 1,500 people have been evacuated from hamlets in Samba, Hiranagar and Kathua with virtually a war-like situation along the IB. However, it was for the first time in recent days that Army casualties occurred along the line of Control (loC) in Kashmir Valley.
Amid continuous firing and shelling in forward areas, Home Minister Rajnath Singh regretted that Pakistan was repeatedly targeting border areas of India despite being offered a hand of friendship. The spokesman of Srinagar-based XV Corps Colonel Brijesh Pandey told The Pioneer that a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) fired from across the loC triggered devastating fire in the forested area resulting in the death of two soldiers near Kanaya post in Tangdhar sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Another soldier and a BSF jawan were wounded in the inferno.
The deceased soldiers of 5/5 GR Regiment have been identified as Vijay Jarang and Suresh Bohadur. Pandey said the troops had laid ambush in the area when the grenade was fired on Friday. The incident was reported to police later in the evening. There was no retaliation from Indian soldiers, sources said. Hours after the deaths occurred, XV Corps Commander lt-Gen Subrata Saha told reporters that no major ceasefire violation has occurred in Kashmir region.
“There has been no major ceasefire violation along the loC in Kashmir region. However, if any such attempt is made, our reply will be strong,” Saha told reporters in Baramulla district on Saturday afternoon. The wounded soldier and BSF man have been airlifted to Army’s Base Hospital in Srinagar. Meanwhile, residents in Jammu frontier areas continued to live under perpetual fear after firing started at 9.30 pm on Friday forcing hundreds of people to shift to safer places to save their lives.
A middle aged woman injured in the heavy firing in Mangu Chak village of Samba succumbed to her injuries in Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu on Saturday. Her 14-year-old son and a dozen other civilians are currently undergoing treatment for splinter injuries. Panic-stricken villagers were safely evacuated from the villages falling in the direct line of fire in bullet proof vehicles.
All villages in Paharpur, Katau, Charu, londi, Patti, Chakara, lacchipura, Bobiya, Pansar, Manyari, Karol and Paharpur in Hiranagar sector, Khwara, Regal, Chilyari, Manguchak, Chachyal, Ramgarh, Maluchak, Suchetgarh Kullian and Mawa in Samba sectors were targeted by the Pakistani Rangers. Over 1,500 villagers were shifted to safer places in Samba, Hiranagar and Kathua from forward villages.
Angry residents whose houses were hit hard in the indiscriminate firing from across the border urged the Government of India to firmly deal with Pakistan and silence its guns. “We cannot live under the constant fear of guns. lives of our children are at stake and we cannot step out and cultivate our fields under such circumstances”, large number of displaced people in Beingallar Village of Samba told The Pioneer.
The district administration, on the advice of BSF officers, had earlier alerted village heads of almost 60 villages to shift to safer zones in the wake of escalation of border tension between the neighboring countries. Tensions escalated after the killing of a BSF jawan in Samba on New Year’s eve. In strong retaliation, the BSF is learnt to have inflicted heavy causalities on the other side of the border. Pakistan Rangers also suffered fatal injuries late on Friday night in strong Indian retaliation.
Inspector-General of BSF, Jammu frontier Rakesh Sharma, after visiting several border outposts told reporters: “The situation on the International Border is tense but still under control”. He said the BSF jawans have been directed to give a befitting reply to Pakistan Rangers. “We are maintaining a close watch on the emerging situation and dealing with it effectively,” he added.