As two more civilians including a teacher were injured in Mendhar in Pakistan shelling today, the Army launched massive assault on Pakistani posts across Mendhar and Balakote, which were targeting innocent civilians and reduced to ashes their six posts after which shelling stopped in Mendhar, Balakote and Mankote sectors of Poonch district, which was going on since yesterday morning.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Pakistan might have suffered casualties in destruction of their posts, which were razed to ground in massive counter offensive launched by the troops to save lives of civilians. A woman and her daughter-in-law were killed on the LoC at Naika Panjgrain in Tarkundi-Manjakote yesterday while half a dozen civilians were injured.
The counter offensive, according to sources, was necessitated to silence Pakistani shelling and save the civilians, who had been trapped in their houses and bunkers since yesterday morning. There was no shelling in Mendhar, Balakote and Mankote since 3.30 pm onwards after the counter-assault of Army against the Pakistani troops.
The Army and BSF have revised their strategy recently to decimate the Pakistani posts to save civilian population on this side. “The strategy has been very successfully,” sources said, adding whenever and wherever the troops have taken this punitive action against Pakistan Army and Rangers, the shelling has stopped immediately as the enemy troops had to run for cover and it will take time for them to re-construct the troops.
The re-construction is also being checked,” sources said.
“The Indian retaliation yesterday in which 14 Pakistani posts were destroyed was measured and accurate aimed at military targets rather than civilian population.
The coordinated fire assault by the BSF executed with complete precision destroyed number of Pakistan forward Morchas and Posts. Inputs suggested several casualties of Pakistani Rangers and serious damage to their 14 posts and numerous Pakistani bunkers,” a handout issued by DIG-cum-PRO BSF, Dharmendra Pareek, said.
He said Pakistani continued to pursue the strategy of unprovoked cross-border firing and shelling to push infiltrators and terrorists into India, which is being continuously foiled by the alert BSF troops.
Meanwhile, IG BSF, Jammu Frontiers, DK Upadhyaya told reporters today that Pakistan’s border guarding force was deliberately targeting civilian areas and its Army directly supporting the troops in the shelling on these areas and Indian posts along the International Border.
He said Pakistan Army is giving full support to Pakistan Rangers, which have violated ceasefire “countless” times in recent past.
“Pakistani forces are firing heavy mortars deliberately towards Indian civilian areas. BSF never fires towards any Pakistani civilian area. We fire only towards military bunkers from where Pakistani forces fire. We have inflicted heavy damage on 14 Pakistani bunkers,” he said.
However, he ruled out use of artillery by Pakistan troops in shelling on Indian areas.
“There is no proof of artillery being used by the Pakistani forces”, the BSF Jammu chief said.
