A 45-year-old woman was injured as Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and firing on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Poonch and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
The latest shelling from across the border started in the Qasba and Kirni sectors along the LoC in Poonch district at 1.40 pm, prompting a befitting retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.
He said Pakistan initiated the ceasefire violation and the cross-border firing between the two armies was going on when last reports came in.
Earlier during the day, the officials said a live mortar bomb, which had failed to explode during heavy Pakistan shelling in the nearby Balakote sector, was destroyed by Indian Army experts.
Saleema Bi, a resident of Lanjout village, was hit by splinters when a mortar shell exploded near her house in the Balakote sector late Saturday night, they said.
The officials said the woman was rescued by a joint team of the army, police personnel and health workers amid intense shelling and was evacuated to a hospital, where her condition was stated to be stable.
Balakote along with Mendhar witnessed heavy firing and shelling from across the border for several hours on Saturday night, forcing retaliation by the Indian Army, the officials said.
Several houses were damaged in the Pakistani shelling, they said.
The officials said the Hiranagar sector along the IB in Kathua district of the Jammu region was also rocked by heavy exchange of firing between the Pakistani troops and the Border Security Force (BSF) throughout the night.
Pakistan initiated the ceasefire violation by resorting to firing on three forward areas, including Karol Matrai, Faqeera and Chandwa around 9 pm, drawing retaliation by the BSF guarding the IB, they said.
The officials said the Pakistani troops used mortars to target the posts and villages, causing panic among the border residents who were forced to take shelter in underground bunkers.
Two cows were injured and were attended to by medical teams after the firing stopped around 4 am, they said.