51 Pak rangers die as Indians retaliate

The flare-up reached its critical level on Sunday with Pakistani troops employing 120 mm mortars, recoilless guns and other artillery.

Giving details of the casualties and damage suffered by the Pakistani side, sources said that 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed on Friday morning and 27 others on Saturday night. The Indian army also killed five more Pakistani soldiers during the exchange of heavy fire in Uri sector today, they said.

Besides this, 23 Pakistani bunkers were destroyed and 11 others damaged after the Indian army also started replying to the heavy artillery fire from the other side since Saturday, they said. Sources added that over 40 Pakistani soldiers were also injured during the exchange of fire.

On the Indian side, an Army Major and a jawan were killed due to the heavy shelling by Pakistan. Identifying the deceased major as Dipender of 24 Punjab, sources said there were no other casualties or injuries on their side.

Pointing out that Pakistani troops used heavy artillery and mortar fire targeting Indian positions since Friday night, sources said that earlier it had been resorting to small arms fire at regular intervals along the Line of Actual Control in these areas since August 15. However, the pace of firing was stepped up from across the border on Friday night, with Pakistani troops firing mortars of 82 mm, 85 mm and 120 mm calibre.

Besides this, they also used air defence guns, rocket launchers and small arms fire during the period.

Sources said the Pakistani troops fired around 600 rounds of air defence guns, besides 250 rounds of RCL, mortar and rocket launchers along with 1,200 rounds of small arms in Kargil sector.

Pointing out that many Indian forward positions were affected by the unprovoked firing by Pakistan, sources said there had been no evacuation of civilians from any village located near the Line of Actual Control in Kashmir valley and Ladakh region. “No Pakistani mortar or shell fell in the residential areas on this side of the border,” they added.

It was for the second time during the last four months that Pakistani troops had resorted to heavy firing on the Indian territory on this side of the Line of Actual Control.

Earlier in April last, they had lobbed shells and fired mortars at Kargil town, forcing all the residents there to migrate to safer places.

Meanwhile, the firing was continuing till midday today, defence sources said.A number of Pakistani posts including Dhalwan, Marol, Brachil, Nadim, Karim, Chesma and Olithing-Thang have suffered extensive damage due to retaliation by Indian troops, he said, adding these posts form part of Pakistan brigade located at Skardu and Mini-Marg, opposite the Kargil sector.

the Pakistani side removing dead soldiers and carrying away the injured. Smoke and fire was also observed from Pakistani army camps and forward bases close to the border after they were smashed, he added.

The spokesman said as the foreign secretary-level talks are drawing close Pakistan army generals want to vitiate the atmosphere so as to scuttle attempts by their political leadership to negotiate peace and tranquillity between the two countries.

“As a result, the Pakistani army has started indiscriminate and unprovoked firing all along the line of control in general and particularly in the Uri and Kargil sectors”, he said.

He said, “going by the sheer magnitude of firing it is obvious that it has the approval of the top hierarchy of the Pak army which is against the sincere efforts of the new government in that country to bring in peace and tranquility in the sub-continent”.

“The desperation of the Pakistani army and the ISI is quite evident from their attempts to escalate tension all along the line of control as they have failed to do anything spectacular during the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence which to their chagrin and horror provoked positive response from Kashmiri population,” the spokesman said.

“The hawks in Pakistan seem to have developed feet of clay and have become jittery.”

He said, “as far as we are concerned we are quite familar with such predilections and compulsions of the Pakistani army and take such acts of desperation in our stride with an abiding sense of responsibility and maturity.

“However, Indian army cannot be expected to be mute observers to such brazen act of provocation committed as we are to safeguard life and property of our population and maintain sanctity of our borders”, the spokesman said.Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiya, who arrived in Srinagar today on a two-day visit to the Valley, held meetings with the authorities of all the paramilitary forces posted in the Valley to take stock of the situation.

Pakistan denies reports of casualties

Pakistan has vehemently denied reports that Indian troops killed 51 Pakistani soldiers in an exchange of fire in the Kashmir valley. “No exchange of fire has taken place in Kargil and Uri sectors in the past two, three days,” a defence ministry spokesman said, rejecting the allegation that there was an upsurge in firing from the Pakistan side.

Today’s reports on heavy casualties in exchanges of firing followed a statement by the Pakistani defence ministry overnight accusing India of resorting to unprovoked firing in Chakothi, Pando and Sankh sectors.