Pakistan violates ceasefire in J-K's Poonch

Jammu:  Pakistan tonight violated ceasefire by targeting forward villages and posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch, ending over a week-long lull in the cross-border firing in the district, police said.

Army troops guarding the border retaliated and an exchange of fire between the two sides was underway when the last reports were received, the police said. The police said Pakistani troops fired using small and heavy weapons at around 2045 hours at Sher Shakti and Mandhar areas of Kerni sector but there was no immediate report of any casualty.

On October 18, eight civilians, including a two-year-old child, were injured in heavy Pakistani shelling in the district. The firing comes hours after a team of officials led by District Development Commissioner Poonch Tariq Ahmad Zargar visited forward areas along the LoC and inspected the progress in the construction of bunkers for border residents.