‘BSF resorted to firing’

Pakistan claimed on Sunday that the Border Security Force (BSF) resorted to firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) near Rawalkot’s Neza Pir sector.

According to a military statement, the firing “commenced at midnight and continued till 8:30 am (Sunday).”

It added: “The BSF used all sorts of heavy weapons for the attack. Pakistani troops responded with retaliatory firing. No casualties or loss of life have been reported so far.” Instances of firing across the Indo-Pak border have occurred intermittently over the years. In December 2013, the two countries had pledged to uphold the 2003 ceasefire accord which was left in tatters by repeated violations that year. The truce breaches had put the nascent bilateral peace dialogue on hold. The Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is the main contention, between the two countries, is divided between India and Pakistan by the UN-monitored de facto border of LoC. The territory is claimed in full by both the countries.