This Article is From Oct 19, 2013

In biggest ceasefire violation in 10 years, Pak troops open fire at 25 locations on border

Two BSF personnel were injured and one infiltrator was killed in the firing as the Indian Army foiled multiple infiltrations attempts.

Jammu: In the biggest ceasefire violation along the International Border in a decade, Pakistani soldiers opened fire at Border Security Force or BSF posts at 25 different locations in Jammu and Samba districts yesterday.

The firing, that began around 7:30 pm yesterday and continued through the night, has stopped for now. The BSF retaliated with mortars.

Two BSF personnel were injured and one infiltrator was killed in the firing as the Indian Army foiled multiple infiltrations bids through the night.

Heavy exchange of fire was reported from Kathua, Samba, Hira Nagar, RS Pura and Pargawal sectors.

There have been over 150 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in the last two months. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said New Delhi should take up the issue strongly with Pakistan, adding that it would be "extremely difficult to maintain talks on ceasefire if the situation worsened."

Intelligence sources say there are more than 40 training camps across the Line of Control and 700 militants are ready to infiltrate. More ceasefire violations are likely just before winter sets in and snow blocks the passes, they add.

Mr Abdullah yesterday also questioned why the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last month has failed to stop the spurt in such incidents.

"It was only a few days ago that our Prime Minister met Pakistani Prime Minister in New York. They spoke about the ceasefire violation and it was decided that the DGMOs (Director General Military Operations) of both these countries will talk to each other and find a solution to this problem. Instead of getting solved, the matter is getting worse and the manner in which civilian areas were shelled yesterday and some of our children were injured, it doesn't seem that their intentions are right," the 43-year-old Chief Minister said.

Weeks after that meeting, there have been no moves towards a meeting of the top military officers.

In the backdrop of the increased ceasefire violations, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde will visit forward areas along the International Border on October 22 to review the security situation.

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