No jawans killed in Pak firing, says Army

Rejecting the Pakistan Army’s claim that four Indian soldiers were killed in a cross border shelling, the Indian Army said no Indian soldier has lost his life due to Pak unprovoked ceasefire violations shelling in July.

“Pakistan Army has been violating the ceasefire on a regular basis. It has deliberately targeted civilian areas during these across the line of control firing incidents,” an Indian Army spokesperson said.

“As a mature and accountable institution, the Indian Army keeps the public informed of casualties suffered through an established and transparent system.”

“In case of occurrence of fatal casualties, tribute is paid to the soldier through the official Twitter handle and Facebook page. State funeral is also organised as a mark of respect,” the official said.

However, in one such incident of specific targeting by unprovoked shelling of civilian areas by Pakistan on Saturday, Havildar Md Shaukat, a serving soldier, and his wife died while he was at his home during leave, the spokesperson added.

Pakistan military claimed on Monday that it had killed four Indian soldiers and destroyed two Indian check posts being used to target civilians. It claimed that Indian firing resulted in death of five of its innocent civilians. To substantiate its claim, the Pakistan Army also released a video dated July 9. “Pakistan Army befittingly responded on July 9, causing substantial losses to men and material. Two Indian Army posts firing on innocent civilians have been destroyed. Four Indian soldiers killed,” Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor had tweeted, while sharing the video.