India-Pakistan
Pahalgam aftermath: Pakistan Army resorts to unprovoked firing along LoC for sixth consecutive day
Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing at multiple locations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, escalating tension in the region amid worsening relationship between the two neighbouring nations following the Pahalgam terror attack.
This was the sixth consecutive day when Pakistan resorted to cross-border firing.
A defence spokesman told UNI news agency that during the night of April 29-30, Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small-arms fire across the Line of Control opposite the Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhnoor sectors in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that unprovoked small arms firing by the Pakistan Army was also reported from their posts across the Line of Control in Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the Kashmir division as well as across the International Border in the Pargwal Sector.
"Indian Army troops responded swiftly and proportionately," he told the news agency.
Official sources told UNI that Pakistan fired small arms and violated the ceasefire in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district and Pargwal area of Akhnoor in Jammu.
No casualties have been reported on the Indian side.
Modi Gives 'Full Freedom' To Forces
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the armed forces 'complete freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing' of India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 civilians dead, media reports said citing sources on Tuesday night.
Amid escalating tension with Pakistan, PM Modi took the decision at a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.
According to NDTV's sources, the Prime Minister reaffirmed that it is 'our national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism' and that he has 'complete faith and confidence' in the Indian military.
Shortly after the meeting, Home Minister Amit Shah and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat reached the PM's residence.
The PM's message, sources explained, gives a green light to military action against the terrorists who killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourist, in Pahalgam's Baisaran, in the worst possible target on civilians since the Pulwama attack in February 2019.
After the Pulwama attack, India conducted precision air strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan's Balakot. The camps were run by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed with help from the Pak Army.
Pahalgam Attack
On April 22, the terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims (tourists visitng the scenic Pahalgam in Kashmir) to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision) before gunning them down in front of their families, including wives, children and daughters.
The massacre triggered nationwide outrage and escalated India-Pakistan tensions as New Delhi vowed to avenge the killings.
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