Ceasefire violations continue: Everything will be fine on the border, assures PM Modi

New Delhi/Srinagar: In the wake of continued unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces on the border that claimed the lives of two more women and the ongoing “massive” Indian retaliation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while sounding an optimistic note on the future, said here on Wednesday that “everything will be fine soon” on the Pakistan border.

Mr Modi did not speak further, but top government sources said India will not give in to “coercive diplomacy” by Pakistan and will respond strongly to further Pakistani shelling. Indian forces have retaliated effectively to the Pakistani aggression, sources added.

In another move, the Prime Minister’s Office has directed the external affairs ministry to lodge a protest with the Pakistan high commission, with sources indicating India may have already taken up the matter through diplomatic channels on Wednesday evening itself. Top sources said the MEA collected all the inputs from the Army and BSF and had started preparing the ground for lodging a protest with the high commission on Tuesday itself.

A man sits outside his house after shelling from Pakistan side damaged the walls of his residence at village Chilayari in Samba district, some 50 kms from Jammu (Photo: PTI)

While the government hopes there will be a decline in the incidents, top security officials said targeted sniping to injure Pak soldiers was likely.

Modi sounded optimistic about the ceasefire violations at the Jammu and Kashmir border. Army sources said Pakistani firing on the LoC had stopped Wednesday morning after effective Indian retaliation earlier.

Read: Pak Army behind Rangers involved in ceasefire violations: Govt

Late on Wednesday night, firing once again began from the Pakistani side along the international border, guarded on the Indian side by the paramilitary BSF, dimming the chances of an early resolution or flag meeting.

Sending a strong message to Pakistan that India will not tolerate any Pakistani aggression and will retaliate effectively, minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju said in Karnal, Haryana, that there would not be any flag meeting with Pakistan.

A woman displays the mortar shell fired from the Pakistani side that damaged the roof of her house at Arnia in Jammu (Photo: PTI)

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha asserted that the ceasefire violations and firing from across the Line of Control were “quite serious” and that the government wants a “quick resolution”.

National security adviser Ajit Doval and Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag also briefed the PM on the prevailing security situation along the international border and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Read: LoC firing: India tells United Nations it is ready to retaliate

So far as casualties across the border are concerned, a report from Pakistan said three more people were killed in firing by Indian forces along the Sialkot border overnight, taking the toll to 12 on the other side.

Pakistani officials claimed the latest casualties came after nine people died on Monday, the highest civilian toll in a single day in over a decade on the boundary.

Men carry damaged ply woods after shelling from the Pakistani side at village Chilayari in Samba district, some 50 kms from Jammu (Photo: PTI)

On Wednesday, a woman who was injured in mortar shell attacks in the Sharkargarh sector of Sialkot succumbed to her injuries. Previously, eight people were killed in the Chaprar sector due to cross-border firing, they added.

Villages on both sides of the IB have now been emptied leaving virtually no scope for targeted firing of civilians in villages.

Read: India, Pakistan border row: We can retaliate unlike Gujarat victims, tweets Bilawal Bhutto

It is expected this will bring a decline in the general area of firing, that has been going on over the past few days. Three BSF jawans and seven civilians were injured in the firing that began Tuesday night and went on till Wednesday morning.

Sources said mortar firing stopped after an hour and a half. The change in weather on the border, where it has been raining, has also contributed to the dip in firing during the day, they said.

“Pakistan should stop... We are only protecting our sovereignty,” a source said.