Quick Take
Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed.
The Pakistan Army has fired upon Indian posts along the Line of Control, escalating tensions since the Pahalgam terrorattack. India has responded actively, while Pakistan calls for international intervention and rejects links to the attack.
New Delhi:
Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked small arms firing towards Indian posts along the Line of Control for the ninth consecutive night on Friday.
A Union Defence Ministry statement said, “During the night of May 2 and May 3, Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC opposite the Kupwara, Uri, and Akhnoor areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.” The Indian Army responded “promptly and proportionately” to the firing along the de-facto border.
The violation comes a day after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad called for intensifying international intervention, saying that there was “imminent threat of kinetic action” by New Delhi. He asserted that “Pakistan categorically rejects any attempt to associate it with the April 22 terrorist incident in Pahalgam”.
Violation of the ceasefire agreement, that both sides reaffirmed commitment to in 2021, began after India and Pakistan imposed punitive measures against each other following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan has continued to deny any association with the attack.
Soon after, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the Armed forces complete operational freedom to avenge the attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
In its strike against terror, Indian forces also began the demolition of houses belonging to terrorists or their families, also striking the houses of Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh, who were involved in the Pahalgam massacre.
India closed Attari-Wagah border crossing point, deported Pakistani nationals, suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and closed its airspace for Pakistani commercial flights.
In response, Pakistan announced that it will not abide by the 1972 Simla Agreement, thereby deciding to disregard the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
