Girja Shankar Kaura

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 10

Looking to dispel fear among people who would probably have small sums of cash in denomination of the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes lying at home, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today clarified that “nobody would be harassed” over smaller deposits, less than Rs 2.5 lakh in their bank accounts.The clarification came even as Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das announced that currency notes of Rs 1,000 will be reintroduced in next few months with a new dimension, design and security features.Besides, the Rs 1,000 newly-designed notes, the government would soon come out with new Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes, having new design and security features. The new notes would be issued without withdrawing the existing ones.As people began thronging banks nationwide to exchange or deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that were demonetised on Tuesday night, Jaitley, speaking at the Economic Editors’ Conference, asserted: “Nobody will face questions or harassment for small deposits. It is only those with large amounts of undisclosed money who will have to face the consequences under existing laws.”He said people might face problems initially but in the long run they would definitely benefit from the policy of scrapping large currency notes in a bid to curb corruption, unaccounted wealth and terror financing.The new Rs 500 notes, which will be issued by banks from Friday, have extra security features, besides having a peculiar colour, theme and size which differentiate the new bills from the earlier series. The Rs 2,000 notes, which are being introduced for the first time, are in magenta colour with Mangalyaan imprinted on the reverse side. The Rs 500 notes will be stone grey in colour with a predominant new theme of the Indian heritage site Red Fort.

Air tickets made‘non-refundable’

New Delhi: The government has directed airlines to ensure tickets issued using the now-withdrawn Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes directly from counters at airports are “non-refundable” following an unusual surge in such bookings. Some airlines have announced that tickets booked in the last 48 hours using old notes will not be refunded or cancelled. PTINotes can be used to pay utility bills, tax New Delhi: The Centre has said old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes can be used to pay utility bills, taxes, penalty and fees to central and state governments till midnight of November 11.Bank lockers won’t be digitised: JaitleyNew Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has denied any move to digitise personal lockers in banks. “Completely factually incorrect, no such proposal,” he said.

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 24

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Sapta Shakti Command, arrived at the Bathinda Military Station today on an official visit.He interacted with Army officers and emphasised the need for a continuous vigil.The Army Commander was briefed by Lieutenant General Ashwani Kumar, General Officer Commanding, Chetak Corps and other senior officers about the operational and administrative readiness of the formation. The Army Commander also visited the military station and reviewed various infrastructural projects and amenities being developed for the soldiers.The General Officer emphasised on maintaining a high threshold of operational readiness in order to meet any challenge. He reiterated that the success of any military operation is depend on the quality of situational awareness, excellence in training, high degree of security consciousness, purposeful work culture and focused human resource management.He complimented the resolute leadership of the corps and exhorted them to remain focused on professional excellence and remain committed to the nation building.

A criminal complaint was filed against six persons, including Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal.

New Delhi, November 8 The Delhi Police have been directed by a city court to file an action taken report (ATR) on a criminal complaint filed against six persons, including Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, for questioning the recent surgical strike carried out by the Army.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sunil Beniwal asked the police to file the ATR by February 5 next year, the next date of hearing.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The court was hearing a complaint filed by east Delhi resident Pravesh Kumar against six persons — Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Sanjay Nirupam, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra and actor Om Puri.The plea filed through advocate Rakshpal Singh and Sanjeev Shukla alleged that the six persons had termed the surgical strikes by the Army in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as false and politically motivated and aimed at taking political advantage. The statements had hurt the image of the Army as well as the country, it claimed.The Army had conducted surgical strikes against terror launch pads in PoK on September 29 in response to the Uri terror attack.The plea sought lodging of FIR against them for alleged offences under Sections 121A (conspiracy to wage or attempt to wage was against India), 124A (sedition), 131 (abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.The complainant, who also annexed media reports with the plea, said it had given a complaint at Jagatpuri police station on October 7 but no action was taken by cops after which he approached the court. — PTI

The LoC provides scope to send different messages to stakeholders. Whenever Pakistan finds it difficult to sufficiently activate the Valley hinterland, either due to low strength of terrorists or insufficient energy among the separatist cadres, it resorts to activating the LoC.

CROSSING THE LINE? While for India a quiet LoC is advantageous, the same is not true for Pakistan. The body of head constable Rai Singh of the BSF, who lost his life in a ceasefire violation along the LoC by Pakistan, being brought to Rajouri. Tribune photo

EVEN at the best of times the Indian public remains blissfully ignorant of what happens at the Line of Control (LoC) on a daily basis. Now when the worry is about changing old currency notes for new or catering for the next meal because of lack of new currency, the LoC is far from the mind. It’s at times like these that reminders need to be given in the public space on the situation at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, where a virtual state of war exists. Public knowledge of this is essential if the correct perception about the state of national security has to be held and not simply taken for granted. The situation at the LoC can dangerously spiral out of control.Firstly, it is important to know just what  the LoC is. It is the imaginary line demarcated on maps and ground where the two armies of India and Pakistan were located when the ceasefire of 1948 came into being after the first India-Pakistan Conflict, in 1947-48. Then called the Ceasefire Line (CFL), it got demarcated under the Suchetgarh Agreement of 1972, which followed the Shimla Agreement. It differs from the international border (IB), which is the legal uncontentious boundary between two states. The IB is manned by police forces on a non-tactical basis to prevent unauthorised trans-border movement, smuggling and other such illegal activity. The LoC is, however, different. For one, it is manned by the armies on both sides in eye-ball contact. Although demarcated and signed on maps, there are contentious disputes about the alignment and many an attempt is made to wrest tactically important ground in own favour by eviction of the adversary, by intimidation  or simply occupation if not strongly held. The well-known notion which exists  is, “Grabbers Keepers”. It manifests in identification of vulnerabilities, a much higher state of alert at these and constant monitoring. In between the LoC and the IB is an awkward phenomenon called the Jammu IB; an alignment which India considers final and uncontentious but Pakistan perceives it as not finalised. It terms it the “Working Boundary”, a term we do not share in vocabulary. It remains manned by the Central Armed Police Forces, the BSF in this case and the Rangers a paramilitary force of Pakistan.The LoC may still have been a relatively safe place to operate in the 1980s of the 20th Century. The 1990s brought with them the havoc of infiltration which had to be countered all the time, night and day. The task of the Army then became twofold; first maintaining the sanctity of the LoC (no negative change) in alignment and state and second, preventing infiltration. When translated, the first meant holding posts strongly and dominating the gaps by fire and observation; the second meant physical prevention of any unauthorised movement across the nooks and crannies of the broken and extremely dangerous terrain. As Pakistan ratcheted up the infiltration of terrorists and warlike material, the strength of terrorists on the Indian side increased manifold as did the number of tiers of such manned alignments, ably supported by technology and physical obstacles. However, the public needs to know a couple of things about this deployment and the inherent threats that are prevalent at almost all times.The LoC/Jammu IB provide the scope for sending messages to different stakeholders. When activated, they keep the international community concerned about potentially destabilising exchanges between nuclear armed  neighbours. Whenever Pakistan finds it difficult to sufficiently activate the Valley hinterland either due to low strength of terrorists or insufficient energy among the separatist cadres, it resorts to activating the LoC due to all the above reasons.The actions on the LoC and Jammu IB currently underway involve major breaches of ceasefire, which means regular fire assaults, using lethal weapons. These also affect the local population, thus drawing more attention. The LoC in the Kupwara sector, which is densely backed with troops in depth, has lesser density along the LoC itself. This is because it is most prone to infiltration through Keran, Machil and the Northern Gallis. The terrain forces larger gaps and isolation of posts. In the desire to cover maximum ground to prevent infiltration and ensure sanctity of the LoC, units here maintain smaller strength in a larger number of posts. This is what the Pakistan army and the terror groups are targeting. Patrolling by the Indian Army is essential. Thus patrols and smaller posts along the LoC become vulnerable when Pakistan’s Border Action Teams (BAT) concentrate  to create a local superiority. Intelligence on the broad presence of BATs is usually available, it is the pegging to a narrow location which remains the challenge. The recent casualties inflicted on our troops by BATs is a result of this. The Pakistan army does not have to deploy with a large number of posts as it does not have to execute counter-infiltration nor cater for raids by the Indian Army since India is not infiltrating terrorists to Pakistani territory. However, the Indian Army has struck back quite often in the past and after the recent surgical strikes that fear exists in the Pakistan Army. The devious game has been boldly played by the Indian Army too, giving away some and gaining more. For us, the LoC being quiet is advantageous, quite the opposite of what Pakistan desires.The machismo on the part of the Pakistan Army is a slow and inevitable way of admitting that the surgical strikes in end September 2016 did take place and they hurt. The Pakistani actions at the LoC now underway are obviously with a view to regain face. This will continue for some time, until the new Pakistan Army Chief settles down. The Indian Army’s surgical strikes have given hopes to the Indian public that each time it will be the same; that is impossible and imprudent. Yet, a LoC-experienced commander will tell you that the options are limitless; from planned fire assaults to trans-LoC strikes dispersed over time and space. That is what the Indian Army will do as an appropriate farewell for Raheel Sharif. 

 

 

The writer, a former General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, is now a Fellow with the Delhi Policy Group.

Parrikar said the delay in sanctioning money under the scheme was being caused due to a technical error. ANI

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 3

After the suicide by ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal plunged the capital into chaos on Wednesday, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday asserted that one lakh people were yet to benefit under the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme and would be assisted soon after the rectification of the error causing the delay.Parrikar elucidated that the delay in sanctioning money under the scheme was being caused due to some technical error and said, “One lakh people are yet to get full benefit of the OROP. There is some technical issue. We will soon sort out the paperwork.”Parrikar was addressing ex-servicemen in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Grewal had consumed poison on Wednesday. The 69-year-old former jawan was protesting over the OROP issue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi when he committed suicide. Earlier in the day, the mortal remains of Grewal were consigned to flames at his native village in Bhiwani. With ANI

New Indian currency was recovered from the slain militants. ANI

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, November 22

Two suspected Pakistani militants were killed in gunfight in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday.Two weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants. The security forces also recovered two new currency notes of Rs 2,000 from the slain militants.
The gunfight erupted early in the morning, when police and army cordoned Bonikhan Mohalla in Hajin, around 30 km from here, after an input about militants’ presence in the area.
“As the searches were being carried out, militants opened fire and it was retaliated triggering an encounter. In the gunfight two militants were killed,” a police officer said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

He said both the slain militants were Pakistanis and were associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Security forces have stepped up anti-militancy operations across Kashmir which had remained halted during the unrest triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.

Heavy shelling in Ramgarh has forced residents to migrate to safer places. Tribune Photo

Dinesh Mahotra & Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 1

Girdhari Lal, a resident of Treva border village, is in Bishnah town in search of rented accommodation because his family members are not safe because of the shelling from across the border.It is not easy for Lal, a Class-IV government employee, to afford rented accommodation at Bishnah in Jammu district but he has decided to withdraw his fixed deposit as his family’s security is his priority. He has decided to shift his family to Bishan because death is looming large at his shelling-hit village.Girdhari Lal’s is not an isolated case. There are scores of families in forward areas who have shifted to nearby towns or villages without waiting for the authorities to set up camps. Tilak Raj of Allah village, which is situated on the International Border, was fortunate to get rented accommodation in Bishnah but there are many others who are still searching for a safe place to reside in. “Politicians and officers are repeatedly making big announcements about providing shelter to us at safer places but on the ground nothing has been done,” Raj alleged, adding that hundreds of families from the border belt of the Jammu region have taken accommodation on rent on their own at safer areas.Referring to today’s shelling casualties at Ramgarh, Tilak Raj said the killings had debunked the tall claims of the authorities.Sources told The Tribune the administration had decided to evacuate around 50 villages, displacing nearly 37,000 people, on the 198-km-long International Border. This decision has been taken after the Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked shelling on the International Border since morning. Already a few hundred people are staying in migrant camps set up by the administration but mostly people have arranged their own accommodation. “The intense shelling from Pakistan today made panic-stricken people leave their homes and head for safer areas. This forced the administration to officially evacuate villages to avoid collateral damage,” said a source in the administration. On the Line of Control too, people have been asked to move to safer places.

No ambulance to transport firing victims in Balakot sector

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 1

While killing of civilians due to unprovoked firing from across the border is going on unabated on the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border, the health sector in Jammu province is virtually paralysed. The situation is worst in the border areas where even ambulances are not available to take injured to the hospitals.Today shelling started on the LoC in the Mendhar sub-division of Poonch district. Some border residents received severe injuries in the firing but no ambulance was available to take the injured to the nearby hospital. The helpless residents took the injured in their own vehicles to the hospitals.According to reports, this morning Pakistan started heavy shelling in the Balakot sector of the Mendhar sub-division, resulting into injuries to some civilians. Locals immediately called for the ambulance from the nearby primary health centre (PHC) of Dhargloon but there was no fuel in it.“We have already sought an explanation from the authorities to fix responsibility for this negligence,” Sher Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mendhar told The Tribune.He said there was another primary health centre at Bharotee which was situated across the fencing but it was not well-equipped. So a huge chunk of the population living near the LoC was dependent on the Dhargloon PHC for shifting the injured to nearby hospitals in case of shelling from across the border, he added.In fact, Dhargloon PHC is not an isolated case. In most of the health centres in the border areas, ambulances are not available. There is strong anger among people against Health Department for not taking the issue seriously.Sources said six ambulances were available in the Mendhar sub-division but most of these vehicles were not fully functional. The sub-division needs 10 ambulances but only six are available that too in a bad condition.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 20

Retired armed forces officers re-employed with the Department of Defence Services Welfare, Punjab, have decided to go on a strike from tomorrow to protest against the state government’s failure to promote them to the level of Additional Director despite directives issued by the Centre five years ago.The affected officers, who are of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, are instead continuing at the level of Deputy Director which is below their corresponding level in the armed forces. Under the Sixth Pay Commission, a Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel drew a grade pay of Rs8,000 and Rs8,400, respectively, whereas the grade pay being paid to them post-retirement at the level of Deputy Director was Rs5,400.“From tomorrow, officers posted in headquarters and in the districts will be present in the office, but can’t process files, take decisions or sign documents till the matter is resolved,” an officer said.“Though the grade pay has been abolished by the Seventh Pay Commission, wide disparity in the status remains. We are being paid salaries equivalent to our last pay drawn from the armed forces. Meeting our demand will not entail any financial burden on the state government,” he added.In March 2011, the Ministry of Defence had notified that all officers who retired of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel are to be given Additional Director posts in the Department of Defence Services Welfare, Punjab, to maintain parity of their rank vis-à-vis civilian officers.According to officers, they had taken up their case with the government and urged CM Parkash Singh Badal. Recently, they received a communication the Finance Department had rejected the case without assigning any reason. The issue figured in the meetings of the Kendriya Sainik Board chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The Army vehicle that was damaged in an ambush by militants at Pengeri in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Saturday. PTI

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, November 19

Three Army personnel were killed and four injured when a group of 15-20  suspected militants belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) and the NSCN-K ambushed  two Army vehicles  around 5.30 am inside the Buri Dihing reserve forest  near Pengeri  in Tinsukia district of eastern Assam,  about 510 km away from here.The slain jawans belonged to 15 Kumaon Regiment based in Pengeri and were engaged in counter-insurgency operations, sources said. The deceased were identified as Havildar Multan Singh, Havildar Rishipal Singh and Naik Narpat Singh.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up  Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal  this morning and took stock of the situation after the attack. State Director  General of Police (DGP) Mukesh Sahay, who rushed to the spot, said he suspected the hand of ULFA(I) and its allies  and vowed to apprehend the culprits.  The two Army vehicles – a Gypsy and a truck – were on  way to the refinery town of Digboi when ambushed, with the militants triggering an IED blast under the Gypsy and opening fire. The blast created a crater on the road. Security personnel later recovered grenade launchers at the spot. The police and Army have cordoned off the area and launched a combing operation in the area, including the reserve forest. Helicopters have been pressed into service.The police said the attack was carried out by militants who used sophisticated weapons, including rocket- propelled grenades (RPG), AK-47 assault rifles and mortars.This is the first major attack on the security forces by the banned ULFA (I)   since the BJP-led government  headed by Sonowal  came to power in Assam in May this year. It is the second attack by ULFA(I) in Pengeri in three days. On November 16, a civilian was killed and two Assam Industrial Security Force (AISF) personnel were seriously injured when a tea garden vehicle, on its way to collect cash from Doom Dooma to pay workers, was waylaid near Pengeri.

Five Naxals gunned down in Chhattisgarh

• Raipur: Five Naxals have been shot in the jungles of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district in the Maoist hotbed Bastar, the police said on Saturday. “The skirmish took place on Friday night between a joint team of the District Reserve Group (DRG) and ultras in the jungles of Tuspal and Becha Kilam villages,” IGP (Bastar Range), SRP Kalluri said. This is the second biggest encounter in Bastar this month after bodies of six Naxals, including three women, were recovered after a gunbattle in Dantewadaon November 16.

Militant shot; soldier hurt in border fire

Anantnag, November 19

Local militant Rayees Ahmad Dar of Kakapora village, Pulwama, was killed in an encounter in Pulwama district today while soldier Kala Singh  of 8 Sikh Light Infantry was seriously injured in cross-border firing.  An ambush was laid for militants in Begum Bagh. Personnel of 50 RR  and the Special Operations Group (SOG) were part of the operation,” a senior police official said. He said the two militants were riding a bike when they were intercepted by security personnel. “The pillion rider got down and opened fire. He was killed after a brief encounter. His accomplice managed to flee,” the official said. An AK-47 rifle and ammunition was found at the encounter site.Dar had joined the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen recently. In his mid-twenties, he had attended the ITI  before being appointed trainer at the institute on a contractual basis, the officer said.Meanwhile, the police have appealed to young recruits to lay down arms. DIG (South Kashmir range) Niteish Kumar said rehabilitation cells had been formed at the district level to try integrate “these boys with the mainstream”.Reports said Pakistani troops continued to pound forward posts and villages near the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. After a two-day lull, the Pakistan army today resorted to unprovoked heavy mortar shelling on forward posts and civilian areas in Kalsian, Jhanhar and Bhawani villages in Nowshera sector, using small and automatic arms and 120 mm mortars. Due to the heavy shelling, the movement of civil/police officials has been restricted. A house each at Makri and Kalisan villages was damaged in the shelling. “Shanti Devi, 80, of Makri village received splinter injuries. Her condition is stable,” said the SDM.

JAMMU ATTACKS Army rescues hostage women, kids in Nagrota, kills 3 militants; three infiltrators shot dead in Samba

Seven soldiers, including two Majors, were killed when militants dressed as policemen stormed a military camp in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, triggering a fierce gun battle that raged for more than 12 hours.

A defence statement said the bodies of three militants were recovered and “operations are in progress to sanitise the complete area”.

The brazen attack was the second in as many months since the siege of another army base at Uri left 19 Indian soldiers dead, spiking tensions between India and Pakistan.

In a separate gunfight, 70km from Nagrota, three infiltrators were killed and a senior BSF officer and five jawans were injured near the international border in Chamliyal area of Samba sector, officials said.

While the operation in Chamliyal was over quickly, the gun battle at Nagrota, a town on the highway between Srinagar and Jammu, continued after sundown.

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta said a “hostage– like situation” arose after the militants entered two buildings housing officers and families of the army unit, located about three kms from the headquarters of the 16 Corps. “The situation was very quickly contained and thereafter, in a deliberate operation all were successfully rescued, which included 12 soldiers, two ladies and two children,” the statement added.

The two rescued children are 18 months and two months old, an army officer said.

An officer said the wives of the two army officers blocked the entry of their quarters with “all the household items, making it difficult for the terrorists to break into the houses”.

Staccato bursts of gunfire and loud explosions continued in the cantonment as helicopter gunships and drones hovered overhead in fading light of the day.

“The operation is on, we have suspended it for the night, but the area has been placed under tight cordon, the army does not want to take any risk and we will resume the operations with the first light of the morning (on Wednesday),” the spokesperson said.

The army said the group of heavily armed militants — believed to five-six in number — arrived at the base in a Maruti car before opening fire and lobbing grenades at the sentries on the main gate.

PM Narendra Modi was briefed on the attack by defence minister Manohar Parrikar and army chief General Dalbir Singh in Delhi. No civilians were targeted, Parrikar said.

India blames Pakistan-based militants of targeting security personnel and civilians in the state, a charge Islamabad denies. The latest incidents came on a day Pakistan saw a change of guard in its powerful military with General Qamar Javed Bajwa taking over as the army chief from General Raheel Sharif.

In his farewell address, the outgoing military chief warned India not to mistake his country’s “restraint” over recent tensions in disputed Kashmir for weakness. The violence followed a brief lull in fighting between Indian and Pakistani troops, who have been exchanging heavy mortar and artillery fire for months across the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two nations.

Relations at the government level have worsened, with the two nations expelling diplomats from their capitals as each side accuses the other of starting the fight.

Following the attack, the administration shut all schools in the cantonment, located close to the National Highway 1A.

Kartar Singh, 55, who has a grocery shop next to the encounter site, said he heard gun shots early in the morning.

“The situation was very quickly contained and thereafter, in a deliberate operation all were successfully rescued, which included 12 soldiers, two ladies and two children,” the statement added.

The two rescued children are 18 months and two months old, an army officer said.

An officer said the wives of the two army officers blocked the entry of their quarters with “all the household items, making it difficult for the terrorists to break into the houses”.

Staccato bursts of gunfire and loud explosions continued in the cantonment as helicopter gunships and drones hovered overhead in fading light of the day.

“The operation is on, we have suspended it for the night, but the area has been placed under tight cordon, the army does not want to take any risk and we will resume the operations with the first light of the morning (on Wednesday),” the spokesperson said.

The army said the group of heavily armed militants — believed to five-six in number — arrived at the base in a Maruti car before opening fire and lobbing grenades at the sentries on the main gate.

PM Narendra Modi was briefed on the attack by defence minister Manohar Parrikar and army chief General Dalbir Singh in Delhi. No civilians were targeted, Parrikar said.

India blames Pakistan-based militants of targeting security personnel and civilians in the state, a charge Islamabad denies. The latest incidents came on a day Pakistan saw a change of guard in its powerful military with General Qamar Javed Bajwa taking over as the army chief from General Raheel Sharif.

In his farewell address, the outgoing military chief warned India not to mistake his country’s “restraint” over recent tensions in disputed Kashmir for weakness. The violence followed a brief lull in fighting between Indian and Pakistani troops, who have been exchanging heavy mortar and artillery fire for months across the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two nations.

Relations at the government level have worsened, with the two nations expelling diplomats from their capitals as each side accuses the other of starting the fight.

Following the attack, the administration shut all schools in the cantonment, located close to the National Highway 1A.

Kartar Singh, 55, who has a grocery shop next to the encounter site, said he heard gun shots early in the morning.