A woman was injured after India and Pakistan armies on Saturday exchanged gunfire and mortars along Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir breaking the lull of nearly 24 hours.The army officials told GNS that Pakistan army ‘violated ceasefire’ in Poonch after resorting to ‘unprovoked’ firing at around 12:35 pm. “Pakistan army targeted 10 Indian posts with gunfire and mortars at Shahpore, Kerni 1 and Kerni 2,” the officials said. “The Indian army retaliated in equal manner,” they said.Officials alleged that the Pakistan also targeted civilian areas in which a woman was injured. The woman was identified as Salma Bi, a resident of Kerni, who was immediately rushed to District Hospital Poonch.
“However, no loss of life has been reported so far,” they said. The firing continued throughout the day, the officials added.Locals said at least 10 houses have suffered due to Pakistani shelling. A local told GNS that fearing escalation; the residents were planning to move towards safer places.On Friday, an army patrol recovered five kilogram Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Mankote sector of Mendhar Tehsil in the district. The recovery was made at the same place, where last week, an IED explosion left an army trooper dead while four others injured, sources told GNS.
Meanwhile, there was no firing along International Border on Saturday, reports quoting officials said.The latest border clashes between the two neighbouring countries have so far claimed 17 lives including 8 in India and 9 in Pakistan, the officials of both the countries said. More than 20,000 thousand people migrated from Indian side towards safer locations while a large number of civilians on Pakistan side also left their houses. The two counties also exchanged warnings on Thursday fuelling more tension.