Border forces from India and Pakistan met on Thursday to find ways to de-escalate tensions after ugly skirmishes on the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu region left over a dozen people dead on the Indian side.
“A sector commander-level flag meeting between BSF and Pakistan Rangers is on at Octroi post in Suchetgarh area of RS Pura sector in Jammu district,” Border Security Force’s Jammu Frontier inspector general Ram Awtar said.
The meeting comes close on the heels of intense firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on the border in Jammu region from January 17 to January 22 that left two BSF men, four Indian Army soldiers and seven civilians dead.
A soldier, who was injured grievously in Pakistani shelling in Krishna Ghati (KG) sector along the Line of Control in Poonch district on January 20, succumbed to his injuries at a military hospital in Rajouri on Wednesday.
There has been no firing on the International Border and Line of Control since January 22 but the state government has decided to keep all the schools within five km radius of the border closed till January 26 as a precautionary measure.
However, a home department official said that the schools are now likely to reopen on January 29 keeping in mind the volatile situation.
Intense shelling by Pakistan since January 17 has also left nearly 60 people injured and forced thousands of people to flee their homes and take shelter in rehabilitation camps or with their relatives.
Pakistan violated the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India 882 times last year along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Thirty people — 14 army personnel, 12 civilians and four BSF personnel — were killed in the ceasefire violations.
India accuses Pakistani soldiers of providing cover firing to help militants cross over and carry out attacks in its part of Kashmir—a charge Pakistan denies.
Source: HindustanTimes