7 Pak soldiers killed in ‘retaliatory’ action: Army; Pak claims only 4 casualties

Jammu, Jan 15: Army on Monday claimed it had killed seven Pakistani soldiers while retaliating to “unprovoked ceasefire violation” from across the Line of Control in Poonch district’s Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
It claimed that four other troopers of Pakistan were also injured.
An Army official said that Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling and small arms fire on forward Indian positions along the LoC in Dehri Dabsi area around 10.15 am on Monday.
“The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively and the exchange of fire lasted for nearly an hour,” the official said.
There has been no word from the Army on casualties on the Indian side. However, Pakistani Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed three Indian soldiers were killed in the firing.
“4 Pakistan Army soldiers embraced shahadat along LOC in Jandrot, Kotli sector. Troops were busy in Line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round. Exchange of fire killed 3 Indian soldiers while few injured,” he wrote on Facebook. The Pakistan Government confirmed the same on its Twitter account.
The ceasefire violation from Pakistan came less than 24 hours after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti asked both India and Pakistan to have cordial relations as people of Jammu Kashmir were the main victims of hostilities between them.
When contacted, Jammu based Defense spokesperson Colonel NN Joshi said that they don’t have any information about the incident. “Pakistan is claiming so, but we don’t have any information about it,” he said.
A cross-LoC (Line of Control) bus service between Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir and Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir was suspended on Monday due to security reasons, an official said.
The suspension of the bus service followed a statement by the Pakistan Army that four of their soldiers had been killed in Indian mortar fire in the Jankrot sector of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Two dozen people were scheduled to cross the LoC on Monday using the bus service.
The passengers were told by Muhammad Tanveer, custodian of the LoC trade and travel at Chakan Da Bagh, that the bus service had been suspended.