Following an unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and the resulting retaliation by India, it has been reported that at least eight Pakistani soldiers, four Indian soldiers, four Pakistani civilians, and six Indian civilians have been killed.
A senior Indian Army officer told the Times of India: “Pakistan deliberately targeted or civilian areas. Our troops reacted strongly and hit them very hard, causing substantial damage to Pakistan Army’s infrastructure across the LoC.”
Speaking to PTI, defense spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia confirmed, “Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC spread across multiple sectors to include Dawar, Keran, Uri and Naugam.”
Among those killed on the Pakistani side were “two or three” Special Service Group (SSG) commandoes, according to Indian Army sources. Between “ten and twelve” Pakistani soldiers were injured, with considerable damage to the Pakistan Army’ infrastructure, ammunition, bunkers, FOL (fuel, oils, and lubricants) dumps, and terrorist launch pads, according to army sources who spoke to news agency ANI.
On the Indian side, alongside four soldiers, a Border Security Force (BSF) sub-inspector and six civilians were killed as a result of ceasefire violations between the Gurez and Uri sectors along India and Pakistan’s shared border. Among the civilians, two were killed in Uri, while three civilians were injured in both the Tangdhar sector and in Soujian in Poonch.
Pakistani aggression was met with anti-tank guided missiles and artillery guns by the Indian army. The retaliation by Indian armed forces is documented in numerous videos released by the Indian army that depict the destruction of Pakistani ‘positions’ and ‘bunkers’.
2. Another one bites the dust! Enemy penalized heavily for initiating ceasefire violations! pic.twitter.com/PZlX5ix04Q
— PRO Udhampur, Ministry of Defence (@proudhampur) November 13, 2020
Meanwhile, the Pakistan military claims that four civilians were killed on its side of the border.
Commenting on the second infiltration attempt this week, the Indian Army released a statement saying, “Suspicious movement was observed by our troops at forward posts along the LoC in Keran Sector on Friday. The suspected infiltration bid was foiled by our alert troops. This was accompanied by the initiation of an unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in Keran by firing mortars and other weapons. We are giving a befitting response.”
Reaffirming its position of strength, the Army said that it is “well poised to defeat all attempts by Pakistan to infiltrated terrorists into J&K”.
In fact, just five days earlier, three terrorists were killed during a failed infiltration attempt along the LoC in Machhil. However, three Indian soldiers were also killed in the crossfire.
This comes against the backdrop of increased border tensions between India and Pakistan. Statistics indicate that firing along the LoC is well above normal rates, with Pakistan committing 4,052 ceasefire violations this year alone, the highest number in 17 years. To put this into perspective, in 2019, India recorded 3,233 ceasefire violations by Pakistan. As a result of this increased conflict, 20 Indian soldiers and 20 Indian civilians have lost their lives.
India is cognizant of this rising threat along the LoC, which is what perhaps drove its decision to secure an emergency procurement of the Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel that were used in today’s retaliatory strikes.
Pakistani aggression was one of the veiled themes of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Tuesday, when he declared, “India believes that to enhance connectivity it is important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” PM Modi also expressed India’s strong “opposition to terrorism”.
Pakistan, on the other hand, alleges that India has violated the 2003 ceasefire agreement 2,729 times this year, resulting in 21 civilian deaths in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan remarked two weeks ago that he is only willing to enter into dialogue if India suspends its “military siege” on Kashmir and “gives Kashmiris the right to self-determination as per the United Nations’ resolutions,” a point which he reiterated during his speech at the SCO meet on Tuesday.