The Border Security Force (BSF) said the current spell of cross-border firing along the Jammu border was expected as the harvest season is over. A senior official said this was the “third spell” of heavy firing from across the border this year. The first two spells were reported in January.
A senior BSF official said they had picked up intelligence that Pakistan would resort to unprovoked firing in the Jammu sector as villagers on both sides of the border were done harvesting their crops. The areas along the International Border in Jammu are densely populated with locals allowed to cultivate their land 150 yards beyond the “zero line”.
No link to ceasefire
“We were anticipating this kind of provocation from Pakistan’s side. They resort to such acts to disrupt the atmosphere on the border. Last year during the same period there were a few incidents but the intensity was not great,” said a senior BSF official.
Another official said the ceasefire violations along the border were not concretely linked to the suspension of operations in Jammu and Kashmir announced by the Centre this week.
“The suspension of operations in the month of Ramzan pertains to action against militants in the Kashmir Valley. It has no bearing on either IB or the Line of Control. We were anticipating firing along the IB since the harvest season was over,” said the official.
The 740-km LoC is under the operational control of the Army and 192 km IB along Jammu is manned by the BSF.
Over 100 violations
The official said there have been more than 100 ceasefire violations this year. On May 14, constable Devender Singh was killed when Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on forward posts in the Manguchak area in Samba.
In the early hours of Friday, constable Sitaram Upadhyay was killed while retaliating to unprovoked firing from Pakistani troops in Arnia.
The official said the vigil on the border is at the maximum and there was no need for extra deployment.
“We have asked the civil administration to sensitise the people to either stay indoors or move to safer locations,” he added.
