JAMMU: Two jawans were killed and mutilated in Kashmir in unprovoked firing by Pakistan this morning, the army has said, warning of “appropriate response” for the “despicable act.” It also retaliated with heavy mortar fire immediately, said sources. The soldiers who were killed -an army jawan and a constable of the Border Security Force or BSF – were part of a team on patrol between two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control when Pakistan fired rockets and mortar bombs, the army said.
“Pakistan is inviting its own ruin,” said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He said the army will exact revenge.
Today’s developments will add to the seething tension between India and Pakistan at a time when an Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani army court which convicted him of espionage. India has denied the accusations; diplomats have been denied access to Mr Jadhav, a former naval officer, more than 15 times. Pakistan says he was arrested last year in the restive province of Balochistan and has been established as an operative of RAW or the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s intel agency.
“In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded,” said the Northern Command.
The 2003 ceasefire declared by India and Pakistan along the Line of Control which is the de-facto border has been rendered futile over the last two years with frequent violations. India, confronting the worst civilian dissidence in Kashmir in decades, has accused Pakistan of inciting and funding the tension; Indian military bases are regularly being targeted by terrorists from across the border. The latest case was an attack last week on Kupwara.
In September last year, Indian troops crossed the Line of Control and targeted launch pads used by terrorists in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The army, revealing the operation, said it was necessary because terrorists were planning to enter India and launch attacks on major cities. The surgical strikes were direct military response for the deadly attack a few weeks earlier on the army base in Uri, where an assault by Pakistani terrorists killed 19 military personnel.
