Army jawan dead, 4 others injured as Pak shells mortars along LoC in J&K's Poonch

Jammu: An Army jawan was on Tuesday killed while four others including a lieutenant were injured as Pakistani troops shelled mortars at forward posts along the Line of Control in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The cross-border shelling by Pakistan troops started in Krishna Ghati sector on Tuesday morning and continued for over two hours, resulting in injuries to five soldiers including an officer, an Army officer said.

One of the injured soldiers later succumbed to injuries at the military hospital.

A police official said a lieutenant and two junior commissioned officers were among the injured and they were evacuated to command hospital in Udhampur district for specialized treatment.

Earlier, defence spokesman Lt Colonel N N Joshi said that Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing from 7:00 am using small arms, automatics and mortars.

"Indian Army has retaliated strongly, effectively and proportionately to the unprovoked ceasefire violation,” he said.

This is for the third straight day that Paksitani troops have violated the ceasefire and targeted forward posts and villages in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri.

However, the shelling failed to have any impact on cross-LoC trade which takes place for four days a week from Tuesday to Friday along the Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch district and Salamabad in Uri sector of Baramulla district.

Dozens of trucks from either side crossed the border from the trade facilitation centres, the officials said.

With the latest killing, the death toll in the Pakistani shelling along the LoC this year has gone up to 27.

The dead included 13 security personnel and five members of a family who lost their lives when a shell hit their house in Balakote sector of Poonch district on March 18.

Pakistan troops have violated ceasefire along the LoC and IB over 650 times this year.