Jammu and Kashmir cross-border firing: Residents living near border asked to evacuate villages, remain indoors

The residents living near the Jammu International Border (IB) were asked to evacuate the nearby villages after heavy cross-border firing. The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday night killed seven Pakistani Rangers and one militant in cross-border firing after a Pak sniper attack injured an Indian soldier in Hiranagar, Kathua district of Jammu.

The Kathua administration requested people living near the zero line in Bobiya area of Hiranagar to move to safer places.

"Administration has also established relief camps and assistance booths at government schools and temples to help the villages," officials were quoted as saying by Greater Kashmir.

Reports state that fresh evacuation took place in the area where the BSF foiled infiltration attempts by at least five terrorists.

The incident occurred on Friday at 9:35 pm, when Pak Rangers opened fire on Indian troops to cover an infiltration attempt near Jammu border. BSF said that soon after the Pak snipers injured jawan Gurnam Singh and tried to stop attempts to move Singh to safety, the Indian force launched an aggressive retaliatory fire, killing seven Pak Rangers.

According to reports, BSF jawans were targeted near the Jammu border by Pakistani troops because the jawans were trying to foil an infiltration bid by terrorists across the border. At least four terrorists were spotted trying to infiltrate into the Indian border. BSF jawan Singh suffered injuries and was soon evacuated and although he is being treated, his condition remains critical.

Indo-Pak relations have worsened ever since the Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on an Indian base camp by Pakistani terrorist,  which killed 19 soldiers. After the terror attack, India had decided to isolate Pakistan at all international forums and conducted a surgical strike on terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29. The death of seven Pakistani rangers now could delay the process of de-escalation of tensions between the two neighbouring countries.