For the ninth consecutive day, the Pakistan Army has been indulging in unprovoked small arms firing on Indian military positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.
In a press release issued by the Defence Ministry on Saturday, it was said, "On the night of May 2 and May 3, Pakistan Army used unprovoked small‑arms firing across the LoC facing the Kupwara, Uri, and Akhnoor sectors of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir."
The Indian Army "retaliated promptly and proportionately," the release continued.
This renewed aggression follows increased tensions between India and Pakistan, after terrorists of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) group brutally murdered 26 civilians — 25 tourists and one local resident — on April 22 in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam.
The country has been left shaken by this atrocious attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his initial statement on the tragedy, made a stern warning that the terrorists and their supporters would be hunted down relentlessly: "The terrorists, their handlers and backers would be chased and hunted down to the ends of the earth."
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Prime Minister Modi for 40 minutes on Monday, after Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan made a detailed report on military preparedness. The briefing was based on the state of readiness of the armed forces to meet any upcoming threats.
Prime Minister Modi has given free rein to the Indian military to strike back against the perpetrators of the Pahalgam massacre.
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently interacted with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi to discuss the security scenario of the area. The L-G directed the Army to take "whatever force is necessary" to eliminate perpetrators of the attack.
Simultaneously, security personnel intensified operations to pull down terrorist infrastructure and deliver a stern message to extremists, their local facilitators, and supporters. In one such crackdown, houses of two LeT terrorists — Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh — were destroyed in Tral and Bijbehara.
These were the direct perpetrators of the Pahalgam killings. Up to now, the authorities have razed the houses of 10 active terrorists who are still active in the Kashmir Valley.
On Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the horrific act of terrorism.
In reply to the intensifying strain in diplomatic relations, India has adopted a number of robust steps: sealing the Attari-Wagah border crossing, expelling Pakistani nationals, putting on hold the Indus Waters Treaty, and barring its airspace to Pakistani civilian air travel.
In response, Pakistan declared its withdrawal from the Shimla Agreement, announcing its intention to no longer accept the LoC — the de-facto dividing line in Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries.
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