A day after making provocative statements in response to India’s surgical strike inside Myanmar to flush out NSCN(K) insurgent, the Pakistan Army on Thursday resorted to “unprovoked” firing along the line of Control (loC) in Poonch violating Ceasefire Agreement (CFV) of November 2003. This even came as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar took a dig at Pakistan and said those “who fear India’s new posture have started reacting.”
The firing was reported in the area hours after both civil and military leadership in Pakistan had clearly warned India against any “adventurism”.
Defence PRO lt-Col Munish Mehta in Jammu said, Pakistan resorted to “unprovoked” firing across the loC in Poonch Sector at 9.15 am. He said Pak troops fired small arms to target Indian soldiers.
Indian soldiers retaliated the fire using similar calibre of weapons. Mehta said that the intermittent firing continued in the area for some time and so far no reports of damages or casualties have been reported in the area, he added.
Parrikar said that the action has “changed the mindset of the security scenario.” His remarks came a day after Pakistan’s Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan said, “Pakistan is not like Myanmar and warned India that his country cannot be cowed down by the threats from across the border. Those having ill designs against Pakistan should listen carefully that our security forces are capable of matching response to any adventurism.”
Khan’s statement came in response to Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s remarks that military action in Myanmar to hit back at rebels who killed 18 soldiers in Manipur was a message to other countries. Rathore’s comments were interpreted here as a warning to Pakistan.
After the ceasefire violation was reported in Sawjian area of Poonch, the local field commanders alerted their troops along the loC and directed the area domination parties to exercise extra caution in the coming days to thwart nefarious designs of the Pakistan terror groups waiting for an opportunity to push heavily armed militants inside the Indian territory ahead of the beginning of the 59-day long Amarnath Yatra starting from July 2.
As per latest assessment of the intelligence agencies small groups of trained militants have been camping across launching pads across the line of control to sneak inside the Indian territory. The area domination patrol parties have been put on high alert following landmine explosions along the loC.