2 Pak soldiers reportedly killed, 2 injured in Indian ‘retaliatory’ fire along LoC

On Wednesday, the Indian Army said that the clash followed a mine blast caused by the Pakistani army’s “intrusion” across the de facto border and the subsequent “unprovoked” firing and ceasefire violation by it.

A brief statement issued by the Indian Army said, “On 01 April 2025, a mine blast occurred in Krishna Ghati Sector due to Pakistan Army intrusion across LoC. This was followed by unprovoked firing and a ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army. Own troops responded effectively in a controlled and calibrated manner. Situation is under control and being closely monitored”.

The Indian Army also reiterates the importance of upholding the tenets of the understanding reached between the Director Generals of the Military Operations of the two countries in 2021 “to maintain peace along the LoC”.

Pakistan has, so far, officially maintained silence on the incident, and the neighbouring country’s army reacted to the allegation levelled against it by India. However, a section of the Pakistani media and some social media platforms have reported that two Indian soldiers, including a captain, were killed or injured in the “retaliation” to “unprovoked firing” by the Indian side, which also damaged a forward military post.

Reports from Poonch said that tensions persist along the LoC and efforts are underway to prevent escalation or deterioration of security situation along the de facto border. The Indian Army sources said that the area remains under heightened surveillance and, meanwhile, the tensions set off by Tuesday’s incident are being addressed through the established mechanism.

In February this year, a series of violent incidents and a ceasefire violation along the LoC had claimed the lives of two Indian Army personnel and injured two others. Pakistan had claimed that two of its soldiers were injured in firing and a civilian died in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast, blaming both these incidents on the Indian Army.

However, Indian security officials had squarely blamed the Pakistani troops for the return of tensions due to their violating the ceasefire agreement by resorting to unprovoked firing on a forward post in the Krishna Ghati sector. They had said that the act prompted a befitting response by the Indian Army and that though the extent of damage on the Pakistan side was not known immediately it was believed that the enemy forces suffered “heavy casualties”.

The clashes in the Krishna Ghati sector were preceded by an IED blast near the LoC in the Akhnoor sector in which Indian Army Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Naik Mukesh were killed and another jawan was injured. The incident had prompted the Army to launch a massive search operation in the area to track down the militants who had triggered the blast.

In yet another incident that took place on February 10, an Army Havildar had received a bullet wound after he was targeted from across the LoC in the Kalal area of the Nowshera sector in Rajouri district. The Army had said that NCO Puran Singh was targeted from across the de facto border while he was manning a forward post at Kalal in the LoC’s Keri sector by terrorists who were apparently waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the India side of the fence.

In the intervening night of February 4 and February 5, a land mine explosion took place in the Krishna Ghati sector. The Army believed that a few militants who were trying to sneak into J&K from PoJK were killed or injured in the blast but there was no confirmation of intending infiltrators suffering casualties from independent sources.

Pakistan media had quoted the country’s security sources as saying that India is orchestrating sabotage along the LoC and that its forces are actively involved in planting explosives, smuggling weapons, and inciting unrest in PoJK including the so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Pakistani security officials had alleged that a ceasefire violation by Indian forces took place in the Dewa and Bagsar sectors of the LoC on February 12, resulting in injuries to two Pakistani soldiers. They had claimed that earlier between February 4 and February 6 four IEDs were recovered in the Battal and Rawalakot sectors and during this an explosion took the life of a civilian, raising alarms about escalating tensions.

They had further alleged that the Indian forces have been transporting explosives, weapons, and narcotics across the LoC, particularly in Bagh, Battal, and Deva areas of PoJK to “destabilise the region”. “The Indian troops have long engaged in unprovoked firing and sabotage operations along the LoC. Evidence indicates that 54 incidents involving Indian-planted IEDs have taken place since 2016 in sensitive areas such as Chakothi, Neza Pir, Chirakot, Rakh Chikri, Deva, Battal, and Kot Kotera”, the Pakistani media had quoted the unnamed security officials as saying.

However, the Indian Army had sought to downplay these incidents by asserting that the ceasefire along the LoC remains intact and continues to be observed as per the mutual understanding with the Pakistan Army.

In a statement issued on February 13, it had said that no recent exchange of heavy-calibre weapon fire has occurred along the de facto border and that minor incidents are not unprecedented.

“While tensions have arisen due to stray incidents of cross-LoC firing and a suspected IED blast targeting an Indian patrol, these are being addressed through the established mechanism,” the Indian Army had said. It added that concerns have been raised with the Pakistan Army at the appropriate level and the situation remains stable and under close monitoring, with the Indian Army maintaining a high state of alertness and dominating the LoC.

On February 26, 2021, India and Pakistan had recommitted themselves to the November 2003 ceasefire agreement along the LoC and other sectors in J&K and agreed to address the issues that could undermine the peace and stability along the borders in a “free, frank and cordial’ fashion.

After a’ hotline contact’ between India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Paramjit Sangha and his Pakistani counterparty Major General Nauman Zakaria held a day earlier, the two sides had “agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the LoC and all other sectors, with effect from midnight 24/25 February 2021.”

The two countries had in November 2003 agreed to cease fire along the LoC and the IB called ‘Working Boundary’ by Islamabad. The agreement held for a few years, but regular violations started occurring in 2008 and the clashes between the two sides witnessed a sharp spike in 2012 and onwards, leaving hundreds of civilians and security personnel dead or wounded and a trail of destruction on both sides of the divide line. The two sides blamed each other for each violation of the ceasefire. Since February 2021, the ceasefire has been holding with only minor violations taking place along the LoC and the Jammu-Sialkot border, much to the relief of the border residents.

The BSF is tasked to guard the 198-km stretch of the India-Pakistan border in Jammu region. Being part of the 2,912 km India-Pakistan border from Gujarat to J&K, it starts at Paharpur in Kathua district and ends at Chicken’s Neck corridor in Akhnoor sector where the LOC begins. In India, this 198-km stretch of the borderline is called International Border (IB) but is known as ‘Working Boundary’ in Pakistan as it passes through a “disputed region”. In public parlance it is often referred to as ‘Sialkot-Jammu border’, however. End it