Pak firing continues in Arnia, BSF retaliates
AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE, ALL SCHOOLS WITHIN A RADIUS OF 5KM FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER WERE CLOSED ON MONDAY BY AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION.
JAMMU: Pakistan Rangers opened heavy fire and shot mortars on the Indian posts and villages along the 198-km-long International Border in Arnia sub-sector of RS Pura Sector, in Jammu district, on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
The Border Security Force (BSF) retaliated in equal measure.
BSF Jammu frontier deputy inspector general (DIG), Dharmender Pareekh, said “Pakistan Rangers started unprovoked firing at around 9pm on Sunday, in Arnia and later also resorted to mortar shelling. This was effectively retaliated.”
However, intermittent firing continued till 5:30 am on Monday, he said. No loss of life or injury to the BSF personnel was reported in the latest skirmishes.
As a precautionary measure, all schools within a radius of 5km from the IB were closed on Monday by authorities.
Tehsildar of Arnia, Gurpreet Singh, said on Sunday evening, at least 44 people were shifted to a relief camp set up at the Government Higher Secondary School, Salehar, in Bishnah tehsil.
“We shifted people in buses to the camp where arrangements of food, water and electricity were made by the administration. Another camp has been set up in Government High School, Deoli,” Singh said.
He informed that as of now, people have not migrated en masses.
Arnia station house officer (SHO), Satish Kumar, said, “Police anticipates another round of firing and shelling by Pakistan on Monday night.”
Since Thursday, this is the fifth ceasefire violation by Pakistan. So far two people have died in these firings and many injured.
The state government has promised that it will construct 4,000 community bunkers and 20,000 individual bunkers along the IB for civilians. However, at present the conditions of people on ground refuses to change and continue to remain vulnerable to firing from Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Inter Services Public Relations—the publicity wing of Pakistan Army— on Saturday, posted on its website that the director general of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Azhar Naveed Hayat visited the working boundary at Phokhlian sector, “where Indian unprovoked ceasefire violation martyred two innocent civilians, while four others were injured, besides causing loss to property and livestock”.
It further read: “The DG appreciated the effective response by the rangers and assured the affected families that Pakistan will respond in befitting manner”.
On the other hand, The Nation, an English language daily from Pakistan, quoting local officials, reported on Saturday that “BSF targeted civilian population in Sialkot border villages”.