Spoiling Eid festivities, Pakistan on Saturday continued to resort to shelling across the loC in Poonch and Rajouri sectors of Jammu & Kashmir, injuring five civilians, including two women. This is the sixth incident of ceasefire violation in the last four days. Mortar shells exploded at a time when the villagers were settling down for the feast after the Eid namaz. With the fresh incidents of firing along the loC, villagers have started to vacate their homes and move to safer places.
Ceasefire violations were also reported from Nowshera sector of Rajouri late on Friday, which was promptly retaliated by the Indian jawans. According to official sources, the firing along the loC in Poonch started around 1.40 pm and continued till late on Saturday with Indian and Pakistani soldiers engaged in gun battle instead of the usual exchanging of sweet packets on festivals like Eid.
Border Security Force (BSF) Deputy Inspector General in Amritsar MF Farooqui said their gesture of giving sweets on the occasion of Eid was not reciprocated from Pakistani side along the Attari-Wagah border.
However, on the International Border the Indian side refrained from offering sweets to their Pakistani counterpart as a mark of protest against ceasefire violations by Pakistan. “We did not offer to attend the traditional ceremony to exchange packet of sweets at the Octroi post in Suchetgarh,” a senior BSF officer told The Pioneer even though no fresh exchange of cross-border firing was reported along the International Border.
Meanwhile, protests erupted in parts of the Kashmir valley after the Eid prayers amid reports of Pakistani terror group lashkar-e-Tayyeba’s flags being unfurled in Srinagar and waving of Pak-ISIS flags. Stone-pelting youth took to the streets in the Safa Kadal and lal Chowk areas as police and CRPF personnel used batons and teargas to disperse them. Incidents of anti-India slogan shouting and raising of Pak-ISIS flags were reported from other parts of Kashmir also.
More than a dozen civilians and policemen were wounded and seven persons were arrested on sedition charges for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan, pro-freedom slogans in Kishtwar area of J&K.
The authorities put most of the separatist leaders under house arrest. Moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was disallowed to lead Eid prayers at Eidgah, where one of the two biggest congregations in the Valley was held. This led to the violent protests by their supporters.
In New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh hinted at action against all those involved in hoisting of Pakistani flags in J&K. “We have taken cognisance of everything,” Singh said.