An Army officer and a civilian were killed as Pakistan violated ceasefire agreement and opened fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on Wednesday.
An official said the Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and a woman were hit by bullets and splinters after Pakistan opened fire at Army posts and shelled civilian areas with mortars in the Uri sector around 11 a.m.
“Both succumbed to their injuries later,” the official said.
A Srinagar-based Army spokesman said Pakistan had resorted to heavy firing from small arms. “It also fired mortars and used artillery fire. The Army retaliated befittingly.”
The deceased woman was identified as Naseema Begum.
The Pakistani forces also targeted the forward posts and civilian areas in Silikote village, where civilians were seen holding up in their residential houses.
Pakistan has opened new fronts in Kashmir, especially Baramulla’s Uri and Bandipora’s Gurez, to “regularly violate ceasefire agreement”. The Army a few days ago claimed it pounded terror camps and killed two Pakistani soldiers in the area located across Gurez.
The flare up took place just a day after Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh and Chinar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. K.J.S. Dhillon visited the formations and units along the LoC in north Kashmir.
The Army officers had forewarned the soldiers manning the LoC “to continue to maintain vigil and give a befitting response to any misadventure from across”.
Dilbag Singh, DGP, J&K, on Wednesday called for intensification of cordon and search operations to flush out the militants.
Chairing a review meeting of security in Jammu, he said, “There was need for collective measures to tackle any situation and any subversive act by the terrorists and their masters across the border.”
