14th night of Pakistan truce violation, toll rises to 16

JAMMU: Relentless shelling by Pakistan from across the LoC following India’s “focused, measured and non-escalatory” response to the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack caused three more casualties since Wednesday night, taking the death toll to 16 in just over 48 hours, the defence and external affairs ministries said Thursday.

Mortar and heavy artillery fire in the Poonch, Uri, Kupwara, Baramulla, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors marked the 14th consecutive night of Pakistan breaching the truce along the international borders in J&K.

Three women and five children are among the victims. Over 50 people have been wounded in the continuous artillery and mortar shelling targeting villages along the LoC.

The J&K govt ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the five border districts of Jammu province, including Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Samba and Kathua.

District heads were asked to identify safe places and make arrangements to evacuate people from border villages. The Jammu divisional administration has already set up 24×7 control rooms in all 10 districts of the region.