Jammu: The firing and mortar shelling in Jammu district on July 15, by Pakistan rangers, has left one woman killed and six others injured including two BSF jawans.
In fresh attacks on July 16, five more persons were injured. On July 9, Pakistani troops had fired at a forward border post in North Kashmir killing a BSF jawan. On July 5, a BSF jawan was killed in Pakistani firing along LoC in Nougam sector in Kashmir Valley.
In a reflection of the heightened tension, Pakistani Rangers declined sweets offered by the BSF on Eid. Border guarding forces of the two countries have been following a tradition of exchanging sweets on festivals at the International Border in Jammu and along the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar in Punjab.
Border Security Force (BSF) Deputy Inspector General in Amritsar, M F Farooqui, told reporters that their gesture of giving sweets on the occasion of Eid was not reciprocated from the other side along the Attari-Wagah border. "We give sweets on Eid every time. The Rangers have not accepted it today. We always want to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border," he said.
However, the BSF did not offer any sweets to their counterparts along the International Border. A senior BSF commander at its headquarters in Delhi told PTI that the force did not "offer" Eid sweets along the IB to Rangers as a mark of protest against the ongoing spate of ceasefire violations which have claimed few lives and injured many in the last few days.
In the wake of repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistani Rangers, India has warned Pakistan of "effective and forceful" response to unprovoked firing and cross-border terrorism.
