The Pakistan Army went on with ceasefire violations for the tenth straight night along the Line of Control (LoC), and this forced a proportionate and calibrated response from the Indian Army. There was unprovoked firing in several sectors like Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor, officials reported on Saturday.
“During the night of May 3–4, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC,” a spokesperson for the Indian Army said. There were no casualties in the latest case of cross-line-of-control firing, as quoted by news India Today.
The series of ceasefire violations happen at a time of increased bilateral tensions after the April 22 terror strike in Pahalgam, which killed 26 individuals—largely tourists.
Since April 24, barely hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan has increased its aggression by opening firing at different points along the LoC, starting from the Kashmir Valley. Furthermore, Islamabad has closed its airspace to Indian planes, closed the Wagah border crossing, and suspended all bilateral trade.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has also cautioned that diversion of the water under the Indus Waters Treaty will be dealt with as an “act of war.”
India and Pakistan had reaffirmed commitment to the 2003 ceasefire agreement in February 2021 through talks between their Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs). Nevertheless, the recent escalation of ceasefire violations is a serious deterioration of the precarious border stability that had been built over the last two years.
Security forces continue to be on alert as the situation along the LoC remains volatile.