SRINAGAR: As tension between India and Pakistan mounted, many border residents living along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri, Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir moved to safer places panicked by intensified Pakistani shelling.
Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand said Pakistani troops targeted army posts and civilian areas in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sector in Poonch district since morning with automatic weapons, mortars and missiles, drawing effective fire from the Indian side.
He said Pakistani troops had on Tuesday fired at army posts at 12-15 places along the LoC. “In the retaliatory firing, army destroyed five Pakistani army posts and inflicted heavy casualties on them.”
Five Indian army men suffered minor injuries.
After Tuesday night’s cross border shelling and Pakistani troops’ bombing in the morning, there was uneasy calm during the day.
A resident of Poonch, Nazir Ali, said the administration and police had told people to remain cautious and alert. He said some border residents had shifted to safer places.
“Some families of Silikote village of Uri, the last village close to LoC in Uri, have moved to safer places in Uri town, Baramulla and other parts of the Valley,” a local resident Irshad Ahmad said.
Kamalkote sector in Uri witnessed intermittent firing from across the border. The sub-divisional magistrate said a contingency plan to evacuate people was ready, if the situation so warranted.
Meanwhile, the Army and Border Security Force were put on alert as Pakistan broke ceasefire on Tuesday to intensely shell Indian positions post the IAF strike.