Woman killed, 2 others injured in Pakistan ceasefire violation in Uri

Official sources said panic gripped Hajipir sector near the LoC in Uri when loud explosions and heavy firing was heard since early this morning. ''Pakistani troops, violating 2003 ceasefire, fired mortar shells since early this morning, targeting forward posts and civilian areas,'' they said.

They said a woman, identified as Akhtar Begum was killed and two others were injured in the shelling in village Batha Gram in Uri. ''The wounded were rushed to a hospital, where their health condition is stated to be stable,'' they added.

They said Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for some time.

This was the third violation by Pak troops in the area during the past about one week. Several structures were damaged in the Pak shelling in civilian area. People who had migrated to safer places are demanding construction of individual and community bankers in the areas directly under the target of Pak troops near LoC.

Official sources said that Pakistan troops are violating ceasefire to facilitate militants to infiltrate into Kashmir valley. ''A large number of militants are waiting at launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to sneak into this side,'' they said.

However, they said despite facing all odds, Indian troops remained on high alert along the Line of Control (LoC) to foil any militant attempt to infiltrate into this side.

There were a total of 646 incidents of ceasefire violation along the International Border (IB) as well as the LoC between January 1 and February 23 this year, an official said.
He said over 3,200 ceasefire violations by Pakistan's troops were recorded in 2019.