A woman shows parts of mortar shell fired from the Pakistani side at R S Pura in Jammu. (PTI)

JAMMU: Two BSF personnel were killed and 13 civilians and a cop were injured when Pakistani Rangers violated the recent ceasefire agreement and resorted to heavy mortar shelling on the International Border (IB) in the Pargwal sector in Akhnoor area of Jammu on Sunday.

“Thirty-one villages and 27,000 people have been affected in Marh and Khour subdivisions. Six lodgements and shelter camps are ready for accommodating affected villagers,” Jammu additional deputy commissioner Arun Manhas said.

The latest deaths in the Pakistani firing raised the casualty figure during ceasefire violations along the IB and the LoC in J&K this year to 46. The dead included 20 security personnel.

After frequent border skirmishes, India and Pakistan had on May 29 agreed to restore a ceasefire and DGMOs of both the countries vowed to “fully implement” the pact of 2003 in “letter and spirit” forthwith.

But on Sunday, Pakistani forces started unprovoked firing, targeting a BSF post along the IB around 1.15 am. Moving beyond Pargwal, the Pakistanis also opened a front in Kanhachak sub-sector of Jammu district, the BSF said. BSF ASI SN Yadav and constable VK Pandey were injured. Both were evacuated to a military hospital where they died.

The BSF has been retaliating effectively, inflicting heavy damages on Pakistani forces across the border, a spokesperson of the paramilitary force said. Both the martyred BSF men belonged to Uttar Pradesh.

Civilians who got injured in the cross-border firing have been shifted to the Government Medical College , Jammu. After a brief lull, the exchange of fire was continuing till the time of going to press.

Expressing concerns over the incident, J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “It’s unfortunate that this has happened even after the dialogue between the DGMOs. People on both sides of the border are dying. The DGMOs should hold dialogue again and this bloodshed must be brought to an end.”

Meanwhile, the police in Arnia sector have sounded alert, apprehending fresh incidents of ceasefire violation , and asked border-dwellers to stay indoors.

Last month, thousands of people residing along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts had to flee their homes following heavy shelling from Pakistan between May 15 and 23, which left 12 people dead.

