Pakistan Rangers have pleaded to stop firing, claims BSF

On Saturday, one Ranger was killed in the firing by BSF troopers in the Chicken Neck area, the spokesperson said. To support its point, BSF also released a 19-second footage of the thermal imagery showing large scale destruction of Pakistani pickets across the border.

Since Tuesday, two BSF personnel and four civilians have been killed in unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms fire by Pakistani Rangers along the international border from Hiranagar to R S Pura sectors. Five people, including a BSF personnel, were killed and ten others injured in firing from across the border in Arnia and R S Pura sectors on Friday.

With this, the number of people killed in firing from Pakistan along the international border and Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir since January has climbed to 38. Of them, 19 are security personnel, sources said, adding that the administration has ordered closure of schools within 5 km of the border in Arnia and R S Pura sectors.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had expressed deep shock over the death of five people on Friday, saying it occurred when Ramzan had just begun and people had heaved a sigh of relief due to Centre’s step to halt security operations in the state for the holy month. Conveying sympathies with the families of the victims, she had appealed to all stakeholders to reciprocate positively to Centre’s peace move to let people come out of the “zero-sum game of killings and uncertainty’’.