India retaliates after Pakistan violates LoC ceasefire again
India has raised concerns over unprovoked firing, infiltration attempts, and the smuggling of weapons and narcotics into its territory | PTI
Pakistan army carried out unprovoked small firing at multiple Indian Army posts across the Line of Control at night again, days after the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 Indian tourists.
Indian Army responded appropriately with small arms. No casualties have been reported so far. On April 24-25 night, too, there was firing from several Pakistani posts across the LoC, to which the Indian troops responded “effectively”.
Sources suggest that the Pakistani troops are checking their Indian counterparts’ preparedness in the backdrop of the escalation in tensions between the two countries post the April 22 terrorist attack, the deadliest since the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Pahalgam terror attack: How India and Pakistan have responded so far
India has maintained that the attack had “cross-border linkages” and has vowed retaliation. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-origin Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has officially denied any hand in the Pahalgam terror attack, and has urged India to refrain from a "reflexive blame game" and to take responsibility for its "failure to provide security" to its citizens.
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The incident has led to a flurry of tit-for-tat measures from both the nations.
Blaming Pakistan for its continued “support for cross-border terrorism”, India closed the Wagah-Attari border checkpost, and asked Pakistani nationals in India to leave the country. Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas.
Both the countries have declared each other's military attaches in New Delhi and Islamabad persona non grata, and asked them to return to their own countries.
India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, meaning the water supply from the Indus river and its distributaries - the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj - will be stopped. Pakistan has warned that any attempt to stop or divert the water will be considered an act of war and met with "full force".
Pakistan has suspended all bilateral agreements and trade with India, and has closed its airspace to all Indian-owned and Indian-operated airlines.
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