ISLAMABAD: A soldier of the Pakistan Army was martyred on Tuesday during firing by Indian forces across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rawalakot’s Battal sector.
An Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman said that ‘Pakistani troops responded befittingly to unprovoked firing by Indian forces’.
The statement further said that the 20-year-old soldier, identified as Sepoy Shams, was a resident of village Shanglot in Gopis Tehsil of Gilgit Baltistan’s Ghizer district.
The latest bout of border skirmish follows a bi-annual meeting between commanders of Pakistan’s Rangers and India’s Border Security Force, in which the two sides had agreed to stop border violations along the LoC, check smuggling and ensure expeditious repatriation of those who inadvertently cross borders.
Pakistan Rangers Director General Major General Umar Farooq Burki returned via Wagha after a three-day bi-annual meeting with his Indian counterpart. These talks are a regular feature and are held alternately in Pakistan and India.
Ceasefire violations along the Working Boundary were discussed at length and it was agreed that all necessary measures will be ensured to avoid such incidents in the future to save the lives of innocent civilians.
It may be added that 26 Pakistanis had been killed in over 200 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary over the past three months.