Pakistani troops violate ceasefire along LoC in J-K for 10th day
Jammu, May 4 (PTI): Pakistani troops continued unprovoked small arms firing in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting effective retaliation by the Indian army, officials said on Sunday.
The ceasefire violation by Pakistan was reported from eight places spread across five districts in the Union Territory during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday but there was no report of any casualty, the officials said.
This was the 10th consecutive night of unprovoked firing from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir, amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
“During the night of May 3 and 4, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in J-K. Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately,” a defence spokesperson said.
The ceasefire violations along the LoC and International Border (IB) have been very rare since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.
Taking precautionary measures, the panicked border villagers have already started cleaning their community and individual bunkers to make them habitable.
Since the night of April 24, just hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops have been resorting to unprovoked firing at various places along the LoC in J-K, starting from the Kashmir Valley.
Initially beginning with unprovoked small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir, Pakistan swiftly expanded its ceasefire violations to the Poonch sector and subsequently to the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region.
This was followed by small arms firing at several posts along the LoC in the Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri district. Subsequently, the firing expanded to Mendhar in Poonch district and the international border in Pargwal sector in Jammu district.
The renewed ceasefire violations come despite a recent hotline conversation between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, during which the Indian side is learnt to have cautioned Pakistan.
On April 24, Pakistan blocked its airspace for Indian airlines, closed the Wagah border crossing, suspended all trade with India, and warned that any attempt to divert water would be considered an "Act of War."
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
