Indian army blames Pakistan for violating ceasefire in disputed Kashmir

Indian army on Wednesday accused Pakistani troops of violating ceasefire along the defacto border, Line of Control (LOC), in disputed Kashmir. Defense Spokesman, SN Acharya told KUNA over phone that Pakistani army fired at Indian army posts on Tuesday in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district, located some 180 kilometers south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir. "Pakistan troops used small arms and automatics to target our positions in the border sector yesterday," defence spokesman SN Acharya told KUNA on Wednesday. He said Pakistan firing started at around midnight and continued up to 3:30 a.m. local-time. "We retaliated with same caliber weapons and the exchange of firing continued up to 3:30 p.m.," he said, adding, "No damage was caused to our troops in this firing exchange". The ceasefire violations have come in the backdrop of the recent meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York where both sides have agreed to maintain ceasefire along the LoC. The leaders of both sides have tasked their respective Director General Military Operations to work out an effective mechanism to prevent ceasefire violations along LoC. The clashes this year between the armies of two nuclear armed neighbors have been almost regularly reported since August sixth along the 720 kilometers long LoC dividing Kashmir into Pakistan and Indian one. India had already stated that its ten soldiers were killed during ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops this year so far along the disputed Kashmir border. India and Pakistan have agreed in 2003 to observe a ceasefire along the international border and LoC in Kashmir