Seven Pakistani soldiers killed in Indian retaliation

Islamabad says four of its men died in firing near LoC; summons envoy

Soldiers take position near the spot where Jaish militants were killed at Uri on Monday.

Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed when the Army opened fire along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday in retaliation to ceasefire violations in the Mendhar sector, even as Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat warned Pakistan against continued support for infiltration.

“In the retaliatory assaults by the Indian Army, seven Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, were killed,” an officer said.

Pakistan said in a statement that four of its soldiers were killed in ‘unprovoked Indian firing’ and claimed that three Indian soldiers were killed in retaliation.

“Four Pakistan Army soldiers embraced

shahadat along the LoC in Jandrot, Kotli sector. Troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were hit by heavy mortar rounds. Exchange of fire killed three Indian soldiers, while a few were injured,” it said. However, the Army has denied any casualty.

Pakistan summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the firing by Indian troops. Pakistan alleged that despite calls for restraint, India continued to indulge in ceasefire violations.

“Director-General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces, using heavy mortars, on 15 January 2018, in the Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli Sector resulting in the

shahadat of four Pakistani soldiers and injuries to five others,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Stating that the Army would not allow anti-India activities to succeed in Jammu and Kahsmir, Gen. Rawat cautioned Pakistan against supporting terror groups and abetting infiltration.

“We will not let these anti-national elements succeed at any cost. If we are forced, we may escalate our military action and carry out [the] ‘other action’,” he said at the Army Day parade held in Delhi Cantonment.

He said the Pakistan Army was constantly trying to push terrorists into India and the Indian Army was using its might to “teach them a lesson.”

He said terrorists and their handlers were creating various challenges within the country by adopting new tactics.

“Targeting of Amarnath pilgrims, attacking policemen and soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir, including the murder of Lt. Ummer Fayaz, were attempts to attack national unity and divide society.”

(With inputs from PTI & Mubashir Zaidi in Karachi )