A day after five Indian Army soldiers were killed in Poonch Sector along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan on Wednesday accused Indian troops of cease-fire violation in the Pandu Sector of the LoC.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations wing of the Pakistan armed forces claimed that two Pakistan Army soldiers had received critical bullet injuries during the cease-fire violation by Indian troops.
Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Ashfaq Nadeem Ahmed has Pak strongly rejected Indian allegation of Pakistani troops violating the cease-fire along the LoC on Tuesday to kill five Indian Army soldiers.
The ISPR statement quoted him, as saying that there is no truth in it.
The ISPR statement also said that a hotline is in the process of being established between the DGMOs of Pakistan and India to discuss the dispute over repeated cease-fire violations.
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The ISPR statement comes after India accused Pakistan of carrying out the ambush-cum-attack through its Border Area Team.
Of the five Indian soldiers killed, four belong to the 21 Bihar Regiment and one to the Maratha Light Infantry. The Indian Army soldiers killed in the incident have been identified as Prem Nath Singh, Shambhu Saran Ray, Vyay Kumay Ray, Raghunandan Prasad and Pundalik Mane.
The Pakistan Government had on Tuesday categorically rejected the allegations carried by some sections of the Indian media of an attack across the LoC in the Poonch sector in which the five Indian soldiers were killed.
In a statement, the Pakistan Foreign Office said: "These are baseless and unfounded allegations. Our military authorities have confirmed that there had been no exchange of fire that could have resulted in such an incident."
The statement further said that Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire agreement of 2003, which is an important Confidence Building Measure and should be respected in letter and spirit.
"Pakistan also urges the need for abiding by and strengthening existing military mechanisms to ensure that such ill-founded reports that have the potential of vitiating the atmosphere, are avoided," the statement added.
"Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India and looks forward to an early resumption of the dialogue process. It is important that both sides make serious efforts in maintaining the positive atmosphere and avoid negative propaganda," it concluded.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister A.K. Antony strongly condemned Pakistan's firing and attack on the Indian side of the LoC in the Poonch sector.
"We strongly condemn this unprovoked incident. The Government of India has lodged strong protest with the Government of Pakistan through diplomatic channels. I assure the House that our Army is fully ready to take all necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of the LoC," Antony said in a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
"The Government of India conveys its condolences to the families of the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," he added.
Antony informed that a patrol of the Indian Army comprising of one Non Commissioned Officer and five other ranks was ambushed on our side of Line of Control in Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
"In the ensuing firefight, five Indian soldiers were martyred and one soldier was injured. The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms," he said.
The Defence Minister informed that the numbers of infiltration attempts have doubled this year in comparison to the corresponding period (January 1- August 5) of 2012.
"There has also been 57 cease fire violations this year, which is 80 percent more than the violations last year during the same corresponding period. The Indian Army successfully eliminated 19 hardcore terrorists in the recent months of July and August along the Line of Control and in the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir," said Antony.
"The effective counter infiltration grid on the Line of Control has ensured that 17 infiltration bids were foiled this year," he added.
