Funeral prayers of 7 Pakistan Army soldiers offered
Seven troops killed in cross-border fire at LoC's Bhimber Sector.
JHELUM (Dunya NewS) – Funeral prayers of seven Pakistani soldiers who embraced martyrdom in Indian cross Line of Control (LoC) fire were offered in Jhelum on Monday.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and other high officials attended the funeral. The martyred soldiers were paid rich tribute for their valour and sacrifice.
Later, the Army Chief was briefed on situation at the LoC.
General Raheel Sharif said Pakistan will continue to respond effectively, and leave no stone unturned to defend the motherland.
According to ISPR, seven soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) at the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber sector in a crossfire LoC violation by Indian troops late Sunday night.
Following the incident Pakistan summoned the Indian High Commissioner to protest the killing of the soldiers.
"The Foreign Secretary deplored the increasing Indian ceasefire violations at the LoC and the Working Boundary, especially in the last two months," said a statement issued by the foreign office.
"The Foreign Secretary asked the Indian High Commissioner to convey to his government that it must stop the provocative firing and observe the ceasefire. Pakistan is pursuing a policy of restraint, which should not be construed as a sign of weakness," the statement said.
Tensions across the long-disputed de facto Himalayan border reached dangerous levels in September, when India blamed Pakistan-based militants for a raid on an army base that killed 19 soldiers.
India claimed it had responded by carrying out "surgical strikes" across the heavily militarised border, sparking a furious reaction from Islamabad, which denied the strikes took place.
There have since been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including of civilians, though the deaths of seven soldiers in what appeared to be one such incident is relatively high.
