Pakistan violates ceasefire for fourth consecutive night, India responds

NEW DELHI: Pakistani troops continued to violate the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) by resorting to unprovoked firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Kupwara districts, Indian Army officials said on Monday.

"During the night of April 27-28, Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara and Poonch districts," a defence spokesperson told news agency PTI.

Indian troops responded swiftly and effectively, he added.

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This was the fourth consecutive night of Pakistan violating the ceasefire along the LoC, amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following last week's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

On April 22, as many as 25 men, who were tourists vacationing with their families in "mini Switzerland" of Jammu and Kashmir, were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists, who shot them after ascertaining their religious identity. A tourist from Nepal was among the victims.

A Kashmiri local also died as he tried to snatch a rifle from a terrorist.

In the wake of the deadly attack, New Delhi announced a series of diplomatic measures, including keeping the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Prime minister Narendra Modi has vowed that India will hunt down the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, Islamabad, which announced tit-for-tat measures, has called suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty "an act of war."

A ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan has been in effect since February 2021.