Srinagar, May 04: Pakistani troops continued unprovoked small arms firing across multiple sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) during the night of May 3–4, prompting a strong and calibrated response from the Indian Army, officials said.
Ceasefire violations were reported from at least eight locations spanning five districts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu. Despite the intensity of the firing, there were no reports of casualties on the Indian side.
This marks the tenth consecutive night of cross-border firing, escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 civilian lives, most of them tourists.
Defence Spokesperson Lt Col Suneel Bartwal confirmed to Rising Kashmir that during the intervening night of May 3–4, Pakistani Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir. “The Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately,” Lt Col Bartwal said.
The escalation of cross-border firing began on the night of April 24, shortly after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan has since repeatedly targeted Indian positions with small arms fire, beginning in the Kupwara and Baramulla sectors of north Kashmir. The violations then spread to the Poonch sector, followed by Akhnoor in the Jammu region.
Over the subsequent nights, unprovoked firing continued in the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri district, and later in Mendhar of Poonch district. Sporadic gunfire was also reported along the International Border (IB) in the Pargwal sector of Jammu district.
Ceasefire violations along both the LoC and IB have been rare since India and Pakistan reaffirmed their 2003 ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021. However, the recent escalation marks a sharp departure from the period of relative calm that followed the agreement.
Amid fears of further escalation, residents in border villages have begun cleaning and preparing community and individual bunkers to shield themselves from possible future shelling.
