M A I N   N E W S

Pak troops fire at 2 Poonch posts
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria & Darshan Bharti
Tribune News Service

Jammu/Poonch, August 7
A day after targeting an Indian forward post in the Arnia sector along the 192-km-long International Border (IB), Indian and Pakistani troops again traded small arms fire after Pakistan Rangers violated mutually brokered truce, firing at forward posts in Hiranagar and Poonch sectors along the Line of Control last night.

Two BSF troopers suffered splinter injuries after a rocket propelled grenade hit a bunker and exploded in the Hiranagar sector, .

The BSF and the Army, in Jammu and Kashmir, guard the borders with Pakistan and China. “Around 7.30 pm, Pakistan Rangers opened RPG fire followed by AK-47 bursts on the Pansar post in Hiranagar sector from their Abhyal Dogra post. In the grenade fire, two of our troopers, Bhuvneet Singh of Gurdaspur and Hari Mohan of Kanpur, were injured,” said a senior BSF officer.

“The RPG hit our bunker and exploded causing injuries to the two troopers,” he said. “Consequently, we gave them a calibrated but effective response. The exchange of fire continued till 10.30 pm,” he said.

“This morning we established contact with them and lodged a strong protest against their unwarranted act. But again, they remained in the denial mode,” said the officer.

Officiating IG, BSF Jammu Frontier, NS Jamwal rushed to the Hiranagar sector on Tuesday morning and took stock of the situation. Jamwal described the incident as an act of frustration on the part of Pakistani Rangers.

“Following detection of a trans-border tunnel in the Samba sector, The Pakistani side has been exposed. They are now resorting to unprovoked firing, which is more of a jittery reaction,” said Jamwal.

“Left exposed, Pakistan Rangers, in the month of Ramzan, have been resorting to truce violations in an attempt to involve us in retaliatory fire and then give a wrong impression to their people that Indian troops were firing at them,” he pointed out.

2 BSF MEN Hurt Army, BSF give calibrated response Two BSF troopers injured, shifted to hospital Strong protest lodged with Pakistan IG, BSF says the incident an act of frustration