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Updated: Mar 24, 2019 23:38 IST

An Army jawan was killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the line of control (LoC) in Shahpur sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

Grenadier Hari Bhakar suffered grievous injures during unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Sunday morning.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district

Bhakar was manning a forward post when he was hit by bullets fired from the across the border. He lost conciseness and colleagues from the nearby posts rushed him to the nearest medical facility. However, he later succumbed to his injures in the hospital.

Bhakar, a resident of Joosari village in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, is survived by mother Kamla Devi.

“The unprovoked ceasefire from Pak Army commenced on Saturday evening in Shahpur and Kerni areas of the Poonch sector with heavy calibre weapons and rockets were fired from across the border,” said PRO defence, Lt Col Devender Anand. “However, Indian troops retaliated in strong measure inflicting adequate damage and causalities to Pakistan army.”

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India’s air strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26.

Valley shuts down

Meanwhile, normal life was affected in Kashmir on Sunday because of a strike called by separatists against the Centre’s ban on the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front led by Yasin Malik.

Shops and businesses were shut in Srinagar while traffic movement was also affected in many parts of the Valley.

The weekly flea market in the city was open, although there was no rush of customers because of the strike.

Schools and government offices were already closed with Sunday being a holiday.

The Centre had on Friday banned JKLF led by Malik for five years for promoting what it called “secessionist” ideology and “supporting terrorist and separatist groups”.

Its proscription followed a ban imposed on the Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) by the central government in February.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Malik had asked people to observe a shutdown terming the ban on JKLF “authoritarian, autocratic and pure political vendetta”.

“The way GoI is announcing bans and crackdowns on the organisations associated with the Kashmir struggle, arresting the leadership and slapping them with draconian PSAs … exposes the hollow claims of democracy of Indian government and also its aggressive and anti-human tactics adopted towards the peace loving people of Kashmir,” the JRL had said on Saturday.

The shutdown also affected life in other district headquarters of the Valley.

A police official said that they had not imposed any restrictions in old city. “The situation remained peaceful,” he said.

The JKLF has called the ban an “election stunt”. “After the persuasion of international community and Indian civil society, JKLF renounced its militant wing in 1994 and tread the path of peaceful and non-violent

struggle for freedom and right to self-determination,” said party’s acting chairman

Abdul Hameed Butt in a statement