Just hours after both countries agreed to a truce, Pakistan broke the ceasefire agreement along the International Border and the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday at several points in Jammu and Kashmir, including Srinagar, as well as portions of Punjab and Rajasthan. Sources claim that the Border Security Force (BSF) has been ordered to use all of its resources in response to any ceasefire violations.
Pakistan’s escalation happened soon after India said that the two countries had struck a ceasefire deal after Islamabad started truce negotiations. Soon after, the Pakistani government verified the same. A red alert and a blackout were imposed in Srinagar after several explosions were heard there. A drone has been shot down in Rajasthan’s Pokhran as well as in Baramulla in Kashmir.
The Akhnoor, Rajouri, and RS Pura sectors of the International Border were subjected to artillery firing by the Pakistan Army. In Jammu’s Palanwalla sector, ceasefire violations were also reported along the Line of Control (LoC). In Baramulla, suspicious Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were observed, and a drone was shot down. Both Baramulla and Srinagar are under a blackout. Rajouri also saw drones, and the Samba district in the Jammu area reported hearing an air raid alarm.
A blackout was imposed in Katra, the base camp for pilgrims travelling to the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple, after reports of airborne activity were received. Drone activity was observed in Punjab at Jalandhar, Faridkot, Pathankot, Hoshiyarpur, Gurudaspur, and Ferozpur. Authorities in Jalandhar and Ludhiana have urged the residents to be on high alert and directed blackouts amid the evolving situation. “In view of the change in circumstances, all members of the public are sincerely requested to stay indoors and must go for a voluntary blackout wherever is possible”, the Jalandhar administration urged.
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister expressed anguish, as the attack occurred just hours after the ceasefire. “This is no ceasefire,” he said. “What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdulla tweeted. “This is no ceasefire. The air defence units in the middle of Srinagar just opened up,” he added, sharing a video of the drone attack.
It took a little more than an hour for the shelling and drone attacks to stop at the border. The government made the unexpected statement earlier today that India and Pakistan had reached a ceasefire agreement, ending the military operations between the two countries that started following the terrorist incident in Pahalgam on April 22. Pakistan started the negotiations, and on Saturday afternoon, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations met and came to a ceasefire agreement.
