Pakistan rushes reinforcements to LoC; fires at Indian posts
At the heart of the Pakistani mobilisation are Chinese-origin SH-15 howitzers it began inducting three years ago.
KUPWARA: The Pakistan Army is rushing reinforcements to bolster its posture along the Line of Control (LoC) where it ratcheted up tensions on Thursday by bringing multiple Indian posts under machine-gun fire, against the backdrop of New Delhi planning a military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, people aware of the matter said.
At the heart of the Pakistani mobilisation are Chinese-origin SH-15 howitzers it began inducting three years ago and the eastward movement of some army elements from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to areas closer to the LoC, the people said on Thursday, asking not to be named.
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“The Pakistan Army’s actions betray its fear. Our deployment along the LoC is robust,” one of the people cited above said.
On Wednesday, India shut its airspace to aircraft registered in or operated by Pakistan hours after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reviewed security dynamics in Jammu & Kashmir as well as the developments unfolding in the region. This came a day after the PM granted the military a free hand to respond forcefully to the attack that killed 26 people.
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On Tuesday, Modi had chaired a top security meeting where he underlined that the armed forces have complete operational freedom to choose “the mode, targets, and timing of the response” to the Pahalgam terror attack.
Forward posts in the Kupwara sector were among the Indian positions the neighbouring army targeted on Thursday, violating the crumbling ceasefire agreement for the seventh straight day and drawing a measured but effective response from the Indian Army, the people said.
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The Pakistan Army also fired at posts in the Uri and Akhnoor sectors, they said. Two active terror launch pads at Leepa and Jura across the LoC face Kupwara, one of the sectors repeatedly targeted after the Pahalgam attack, HT learnt.
There are more than 40 such staging areas for terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before they attempt infiltration into J&K.
“Pakistan knows it has committed a big blunder, and it is certain of India’s retribution. The current build-up across LoC is a defensive move with possible pre-emption inherent in it,” strategic affairs expert Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd) said.
The Pakistan military was warned against the unprovoked firings along the LoC on Tuesday when a brigadier from the Indian Army’s directorate general of military operations spoke to his Pakistani counterpart over the hotline. The DGMO-level talks are scheduled every Tuesday.
The latest ceasefire violations came a day after an overnight exchange of fire between India and Pakistan along the international border (IB) and the LoC.
The Pakistan Army, which has repeatedly targeted Indian posts along the LoC after the Pahalgam attack, on Wednesday opened fire across the IB for the first time since April 22 in a brazen attempt to escalate hostilities. Pakistani soldiers fired at Indian positions near the IB in the Pargwal sector near Jammu, and along the LoC in sectors including Akhnoor, Naushera, Sunderbani, Baramulla and Kupwara, seeking to open a wider front to engage the Indian Army.
Pakistani troops violated the February 2021 ceasefire agreement around 15 times between January and early April 2025. But the repeated targeting of Indian posts along the LoC, and the IB on Wednesday, sparked the most extensive cross-border exchange since the 2021 ceasefire.
Unlike isolated, brief exchanges that were quickly resolved through established channels, the current pattern involves simultaneous salvos at multiple points and has persisted with increasing frequency after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Since the attack, India has already unfurled several punitive diplomatic measures, suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading bilateral ties, expelling most Pakistani citizens in India, and shutting down the only operational land border crossing at Attari.
Pakistan has also unveiled tit-for-tat reactions to punitive measures announced by India but neither side has thus far indicated its intent to abandon the ceasefire. It has closed its airspace to Indian airlines, suspended all trade with India, and has threatened to suspend bilateral pacts such as the Simla Agreement.
