Srinagar: After brief lull, the Indian and Pakistani border guards on Monday again exchanged mortar fire at several places along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu district. No casualties were reported.
The Border Security Force (BSF) officials said that the Pakistan’s Punjab Rangers resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling on its outposts at several locations in Arnia, sector, prompting it (BSF) to retaliate “befittingly”. They said that the shelling from across the border took place a day after the officials of the Pakistan Rangers had pleaded with their Indian counterparts to stop firing “as the Indian retaliation to their earlier unprovoked firing and shelling had destroyed one of their border posts and also resulted into casualties.”
The officials said that the mortar firing from across the IB started at around 7 am in Arnia sector of Jammu district and continued for a couple of hours. The BSF “retaliated befittingly to silence the Pakistani guns,” they said. No fresh casualties were reported on either side, however.
On Friday, four civilians and a BSF jawan were killed in the Pakistani shelling and firing on BSF border outposts and civilian areas in Arnia, R. S. Pura and Bishnah sector along the IB in Jammu district.
Meanwhile, J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday visited R.S. Pura to meet the families of the victim of the slain civilians to offer her condolences. She described the killings as highly unfortunate and said that the bloodshed took place when the holy month of Ramzan had just begun and people had heaved sigh of relief due to the Centre’s “welcome step” of halting operations against militants.
