India, Pakistan exchange fire at LoC’s Bhimber sector

Incidents of cross-border firing across the Line of Control (LoC) continue as Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire in the Bhimber sector in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that Indian troops ‘resorted to unprovoked firing’ at 4am while the exchange of fire lasted for two hours.

‘Pakistani troops befittingly responded to unprovoked Indian firing in the Baghsar, Broh and Khanjar areas in Bhimber sector,’ ISPR said.

No loss of life has been reported from either side, reports DAWN.

On Monday, three separate incidents of cross-border firing were reported in the Nezapir and Kailer sectors and Iftikharabad, a town in Azad Kashmir.

Ties between Pakistan and India worsened after an attack on an Indian military camp in Uri inside India-held Kashmir on Sept 18, where around 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

India alleged that Pakistan-backed terrorists were involved in the attack and initially claimed that weapons recovered from them bore Pakistani markings.

However, this assertion was debunked by the Indian media itself, forcing the Indian DGMO to retract the claim.

Since then, exchange of fire has taken place along the LoC on an almost daily basis. The escalation continued when India claimed it carried out ‘surgical strikes’ across the control line on Sept 29, claims Pakistan rejected as being baseless.