Ceasefire violations escalate: Pakistan fires across LoC, IB in 4 j&k districts, India responds
Jammu: Tensions between India and Pakistan intensified as Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) across four border districts in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army responded immediately and proportionately, according to defence officials.
The firing began with small arms late on the night of April 29, originating from Pakistan Army posts opposite the Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor sectors. Incidents were also reported along the IB in the Pargwal sector of Jammu district.
This marks the sixth consecutive night of ceasefire violations, occurring in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. The attack led India to suspend the Indus Water Treaty, further worsening relations with Islamabad.
According to a defence spokesperson, additional incidents of cross-border firing were recorded in the Kashmir Valley’s Baramulla and Kupwara districts, which later extended to the Poonch and Akhnoor sectors, and subsequently escalated to other parts of Rajouri and Jammu districts.
In response to India’s suspension of the water-sharing pact, Pakistan retaliated diplomatically and strategically—closing its airspace to Indian carriers, halting bilateral trade, shutting down the Wagah border crossing, and warning that any interference with the Indus waters would be treated as an "Act of War."
The ongoing exchanges threaten the fragile ceasefire understanding reaffirmed in February 2021, when the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations had pledged to uphold the 2003 ceasefire agreement.
India shares a 3,323-km border with Pakistan, including approximately 2,400 km of the International Border, 740 km of the LoC, and a 110-km stretch of the Actual Ground Position Line in Siachen.
No casualties have been officially reported yet, and the situation continues to be monitored by Indian defence forces.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
