2021 ceasefire goes up in flames as Pakistan lights up LoC along Kashmir days after Pahalgam attack

Ever since Pahalgam attack, Pakistan Army had been violating the ceasefire agreement, but Friday night was the first time that large-scale violations took place along LoC.

Indian Army personnel keep vigil at the LoC | Photo: ANI

Srinagar: Late Friday night, the Pakistan Army lit up the entire Line of Control (LoC) along Kashmir with small arms fire, to which the Indian Army responded. Since the terror attack in Pahalgam Tuesday, the Pakistan Army had been violating the 2021 ceasefire agreement, but Friday night was the first time large-scale violations took place along the LoC.

“On the night of 25-26 of April, 2025, unprovoked small firing was carried out by multiple Pakistan Army posts all across the Line of Control in Kashmir. Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms. No casualties reported,” a message sent to journalists by the Indian Army said.

Back in February 2021, a joint statement by the Indian and Pakistani armies announced that both sides had agreed to strictly observe the ceasefire along the LoC and all other sectors with effect from midnight of 24-25 February.

The renewal of the 2003 ceasefire agreement was thrashed out following backchannel talks between the security establishment here, and then formally agreed to by the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.

“In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGMOs agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence,” it said.

“Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding,” the statement added.

While India and Pakistan had signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, it was never implemented in letter and spirit after the initial few years.

Despite the 2021 agreement, infiltration continued and the Pakistan Army did provide cover fire in some instances, but the agreement remained in place.

“The agreement is more or less blown to smithereens now since it is Pakistan which is now violating it all along the LoC. Indian troops are responding to it effectively and are matching the calibre of weapons Pakistan is using,” a source in the security establishment said.

Sources explained that the ceasefire agreement was thrashed out during the tenure of former Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, while the current Army chief, General Asim Munir, has taken a very hardline stand against India right from the beginning.

“When General Munir took over, we knew that the ceasefire will not stand the test of time under his tenure, and it stands proved,” another source said.

In 2020, a year before the ceasefire agreement was renewed, as many as 5,133 instances of ceasefire violations were reported along the LoC, which resulted in 46 fatalities, the government had informed Parliament.

Sources said that prior to the agreement, the Indian Army had brought in specialised units along the LoC to carry out offensive operations targeting Pakistani Army positions in direct fire and sniping.

Sources had then said the Indian Army was targeting Punjabi-dominated units, which became a sore point for Pakistan since the casualties going back to their mainland caused much embarrassment.

As reported by ThePrint, Pakistan has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen/Mariners) for the Arabian Sea and initiated a naval live fire exercise, while putting its military on full alert in anticipation of a possible military response by India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)