JAMMU: Pakistan on Tuesday violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Balakote and Mendhar sectors of J&K’s Poonch district. This is the ninth such breach of truce in the past six days, eight of them in the same district.“Around 9.15pm, Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing with small arms and intense mortar shelling along the LoC in Balakote and Mendhar sectors, to which the Indian troops are retaliating effectively,” Jammu defence spokesperson said. The cross-border fire exchange continued intermittently till the filing of this report.This is the ninth ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the last six days. On April 12, Pakistan breached the truce four times — thrice along the LoC in Poonch and once along the International Border in Kathua . A day prior to that (April 11), Pakistan violated ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch’s Kerni sector. Late on April 10, a similar violation took place along the LoC in Balakote and Mendhar sectors of the same district while on April 9, Pakistani Rangers breached the truce twice along the LoC in Poonch — first in Shahpur and Kerni sectors, followed by Mankote and Mendhar sectors.The frequency of such violations has increased of late as Pakistan tries to push in infiltrators to the Indian side of the border.