Pakistan violates ceasefire, uses artillery guns to shell areas along LoC in J&K

However, the firing and shelling from across the border stopped this afternoon in the Sunderbandi, Nowshera and Krishna Ghati sectors, they said.

Jammu: The Pakistan army Wednesday targeted several forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and Poonch districts with artillery guns and small arms, officials said. The intense shelling and firing from across the border continued throughout the night in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, while it started in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in the early hours of Wednesday, they said. The officials said Pakistan also targeted areas in the Nowshera sector in Rajouri. However, the firing and shelling from across the border stopped this afternoon in the Sunderbandi, Nowshera and Krishna Ghati sectors, they said. The Indian army retaliated strongly and effectively to the Pakistani firing and there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, though some structures, including residential houses and cow sheds, were damaged, the officials said. The firing in the Krishna Ghati took place from 6 pm to 8:15 pm. Firing in the Sunderbani sector started at 8:30 pm on Tuesday and ended around 4:30 am on Wednesday, the officials said They said the unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan took place from 6 am to 8 am in the Mankote area of the Krishna Ghati sector. Minutes later, they said Pakistan fired on areas in the Nowshera sector. The shelling lasted from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm on Wednesday. There was no fresh report of ceasefire violation by Pakistan from anywhere later in the day, the officials said. There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India's preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Four civilians, including three members of a family, were killed and several others injured in over 60 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch last week.