 "Photo: Reuters")
Ever since the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes across the border on September 29, targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistan has been violating ceasefire along the line of control (LoC) on a daily basis. So far, five Indians, including four security personnel, have lost their lives, while 34 others have been injured.
Meanwhile, in view of the growing tension between the two sides, the Border Security Force (BSF) has decided not to exchange sweets with the Pakistan Rangers at the Attari-Wagah Border this year – a departure from years-old Diwali tradition.
Here is a timeline of recent fire-exchange along the border which does not seem to be showing any signs of colling off:
September 18: Armed militants attack a camp near the border town of Uri in Jammu & Kashmir on a Sunday morning, killing 19 and wounding another 29. The Army suffers the heaviest blow in a single attack since the break-out of an armed insurgency in J&K in 1990.
September 29: Indian Army personnel carry out surgical strikes across the border in an overnight operation, demolish seven terror launch pads in in Leepa, Tattapani, Kel and Bhimbar. Casualty among militants on the Pakistani side is estimated to be at least 40.
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September 30: Pakistan Rangers resort to indiscriminate firing at Indian positions in J&K’s Akhnoor sector of the international border.
October 1: Pakistan violates ceasefire in Shahpur along LoC in Poonch, J&K.
October 3: At least two terrorists and a BSF personnel killed, and one BSF jawan injured, as militants attack two adjoining camps of the army and paramilitary force at Baramulla in J&K.
October 4: Intensifying attacks, Pakistani troops again violate ceasefire, resort to mortar shelling and firing on Army posts and in civilian areas along the LoC in three areas of Rajouri district’s Noushera sector.
October 7: By now, Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire over 25 times along LoC in J&K since the September 29 surgical strikes.
October 16: After a week-long lull, Pakistani troops violate the ceasefire by firing from small arms on forward posts along the LoC in Rajouri district, drawing retaliation from Indian troops.
October 17: Pakistan accuses India of violating the 2003 ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir more than 90 times. “During 2016, India violated the ceasefire more than 90 times. This must stop,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria tweeted.
October 18: Violating the ceasefire, Pakistani troops fire from small arms and shell mortar bombs on forward posts along the LoC in Rajouri district, drawing retaliation from Indian troops.
October 21: An Indian trooper is seriously injured as Pakistan rangers resort to unprovoked firing along the international border in Hiranagar sector, Jammu & Kashmir.
October 22: Pakistan rangers again violate ceasefire along the border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district by resorting to small arms fire late at night.
October 24: A BSF jawan is killed and three others are injured as Pakistani troops violate the ceasefire, resorting to heavy shelling and firing from automatic weapons in several sectors along the international border in Jammu district.
October 25: Pakistan violates the ceasefire along the LoC in Noushera and RS Pura sectors along the international border, targeting Indian positions and civilian population with mortars and small arm fires, prompting the Indian side to give a “befitting response”.
October 26: An officer of the Border Security Force is injured when a shell fired by Pakistani rangers explodes near him during overnight ceasefire violation in RS Pura sector along the international border in Jammu.
October 28: Pakistani troops continue ceasefire violations, with firing and mortar shelling on Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC and international border in Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri districts, leaving a girl injured. Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Office said: “Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked ceasefire violations on October 27 by the Indian forces at the Working Boundary in Shakargarh sector and LoC in Nikial sector, resulting in the death of six civilians, including two women, and injuries to 22 civilians.” On the other hand, BSF says it killed 15 Pakistani paramilitary personnel while retaliating to cross-border shelling and firing, in which two Indian civilians had been killed and two others injured in the Jammu region.
October 30: The Army says it has destroyed four Pakistani posts in a massive assault across the LoC in Keran sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. “Four Pakistani posts have been destroyed in a massive fire assault in Keran Sector,” an army official said. Heavy casualties had been inflicted on the Pakistani side, he said, without giving further details.
