292 ceasefire violations along LoC in J&K this September, triple the number from last year

Ceasefire violations see a spike since Article 370 was scrapped on 5 August. Total number of violations so far in 2019 is 2,317, Army data shows.

A file image of a Pakistani post opposite the Rajouri sector in J&K, which was hit by Indian Army in response to ceasefire violation | ANI Photo

New Delhi: Tension at the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan has escalated manifold since the scrapping of Article 370 in August. Nearly 300 ceasefire violations were reported in August, while in September, the number was 292, according to data provided by the Indian Army.

The September figure is nearly triple the number of violations registered in the same month the last two years — there were 102 violations in 2018 and 101 in 2017.

Just 42 of the September ceasefire violations took place in the Kashmir Valley and areas north of the Pir Panjal mountains. Sixty-one cases were those of calibre escalation, which means firing escalating from small arms to mortars and artillery.

The total number of ceasefire violations for the whole year until September is 2,317. This includes 820 violations in the Nowshera sector, 744 in Poonch, 287 in Bhimber Gali, 151 in Sunderbani and 129 in the Krishna Ghati sector.

Army sources said firing from the Pakistani side had also targeted schools in the Nikyal and Sandot sectors, and about 120 school students were evacuated in September alone.

“Pakistan was informed about the targeting of Indian civilian areas at the weekly brigadier-level talks on 1 October,” an Army source said.

Infiltration & terror recruitment

Army sources said 28 terrorists attempted to infiltrate into Indian-administered J&K in September, of which 12 were successful.

Eight terrorist-initiated incidents were reported in September, four in August and eight in July 2019. However, this number is much lower than those registered in the corresponding months of 2018 — 29 in September, 48 in August and 37 in July.

According to the data, seven terrorists were recruited from J&K in August, and six in July this year.

“There was a spike in terrorist-initiated incidents and recruitment of terrorists in 2018, as compared to 2017 or 2019. This was because of multiple factors, such as panchayat elections in J&K and more killings of terrorists, possibly leading to more recruitment,” the source quoted above said.