Jammu:
In yet another ceasefire violation along the Line of Control, the eleventh in past five days, a civilian in Poonch was injured in an explosion of mortar shell fired by Pakistani troops, who targeted several Indian forward posts and civilian areas.
This resulted in heavy exchange of fire between the two sides and further escalation of tension.
There was firing by Pakistani forces along the LoC on several Indian forward posts in Balakote belt of Poonch district from 7.30 am today, officials said.
They fired automatic weapons and mortar shells, one of which resulted in injury to a civilian Parvaiz in Sanjote forward area.
He was admitted to a nearby hospital, and is being shifted to Government Medical College in Jammu, officials said.
At around 9 pm on Wednesday night, Pakistani troops had yet again violated the ceasefire and fired on Indian posts along LoC in the Poonch district, Defence Spokesperson S N Acharya said today.
Indian troops fired back, resulting in exchanges that continued till around 11 PM, he said, adding that there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing.
There were two ceasefire violations on August 13, when Pak troops targeted Narianpur border outpost along the international border in Samba district and 16 Indian forward posts in Hamirpur, Balakote and Mankote forward areas in Poonch through the night.
Before that, three ceasefire violations had taken place on August 12 when Pakistani troops fired on border outposts and Indian posts along Indo-Pak border in Durga battalion (Poonch), Kothay (Samba) and Hamirpur-Balakote forward areas.
There were three incidents of ceasefire violation on August 11 also. One Jawan received bullet injuries in the cross-fire.
On August 10, in a major ceasefire violation three days after killing of five Indian jawans in Border Action Team attack, Pakistani troops targeted several Indian posts and fired 7,000 rounds of heavy Pika ammunition and mortar shells during seven hours of firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.
There have also been 57 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops this year from January 1 to August 5, which is 80 per cent more than the last year during the same corresponding period.