Pakistan violates ceasefire for the third time in 72-hours

By ANI

Pakistan has now violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) for the third time in 72-hours, the latest being in Mendhar Sector on Sunday. According to reports, there has been heavy firing from the Pakistani side on the forward areas in Balakot, Mendhar Sector, since 11 a.m. This has been the second ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC today. According to reports, Pakistan had earlier targeted two posts of the Border and Security Force (BSF) in which one of its personnel was injured this morning. The injured BSF personnel has been shifted to Jammu Medical college. More details are awaited regarding the Mendhar Sector violation. Pakistan violated the cease-fire late between late Friday night and Saturday morning, when the troops opened fire on several points near the Indian army's Durga post in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District around midnight, forcing the Indian Army to retaliate. Additionally, on August 6 Pakistani Specialist Forces ambushed six Indian soldiers in Poonch District of Jammu and Kashmir. Relations between the two countries have been tense in the past week and there have been questions raised over whether talks between India and Pakistan will go on. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, on August 8, made a fresh statement in the Lok Sabha where he accepted and acknowledged after being briefed by the Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh, that Specialist Forces of the Pakistan Army were involved in the ambushed attack on six Indian Army soldiers on Tuesday morning in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District, leading to the death of five of them. "It is now clear that Specialist Forces of the Pakistan Army were involved in the attack. Those in Pakistan, who are responsible for this tragedy, should not go unpunished. Our restraint should not be taken for granted," said Antony. Antony said that his earlier statement to both Houses of Parliament were made on the basis of facts available to him then, and that now, he was making a fresh and amended statement based on the feedback provided to him by General Bikram Singh after the latter's visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. He also warned that attacks such as this would have consequences not only on the Line of Control (LoC), but also naturally on the (future) relationship with Pakistan. He said that the Indian Government would not stand by the wayside and allow the sanctity of the LoC to be violated time and again.