The cross border firing has ensued since last night post “surgical strike” conducted by the Indian Army. The firing was exchanged along the Line of Control as the Indian Army engaged firing with the terrorist groups across the border.

The firing started from across the border at Thursday night as the shots were fired at the Indian Army. The sources have reported that the jihadists across the border are involved in the firing. Apparently they are retaliating to the early Thursday’s “surgical strike” led by Indian Army.

The jihadists are believed to be stationed near the Tata Pani at Line of Control. Commenting on it the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh stated, “There was small arms firing (from Pakistan on forward posts) along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chapriyal and Samnam areas of Jammu district during the night.” The frining which had begun at 12.30 a.m, went on till 1.30 am IST he added.

The firing was majorly centered on the area of Mankote and Mendhar. The sources report the firing to be intense as it took place near the Roshni Post. The Indian Army too have said to retaliated with equal intensity with special force as they targeted the militant safe houses in the rural area along with the military posts which often used as the infiltration point by the terrorists. The civilians are been evacuated from the nearby border villages even as the Army has created a 2 kilometer buffer zone.

Meanwhile an Indian solider is reported to have “inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control”. The information was given by the sources at Indian Army. According to the available information, Chandu Babulal Chauhan a solider from 37 Rashtriya Rifles was captured by the Pakistani Army when he erroneously crossed over the LoC.

The Pakistani Army has released the report citing the same giving more information that the Army personnel was captured at Jhandroot, west of Mankote. They also revealed that the soilder is now locked up in the military headquarters in Nikayal. The Pakistani Army also issued that Indian Army had killed nearly eight Pakistani soldiers in the Thursday’s strike. The report has however been rejected as false by the Indian Army, terming it as “completely false and baseless”.

The critics fear that the Indian Army’s “surgical Strike” may lead to the collapse of the peace that had been so far maintained at LoC. This year had been comparatively peaceful with mere 21 21 exchanges of fire between both the countries, as against the 222 last year (2015), 190 in 2014 and 229 in 2013. The number of civilians killed to have dropped down to zero as against last year’s 16. Commenting on this one for the senior military personnel said, “The quiet on the Line of Control has helped us contain infiltration amidst the awful situation inside the Kashmir valley, since it’s easier to maintain our defenses.” “Pakistan has an obvious interest in stepping up the heat,” he added.

In meantime, the villages situation near the border of Pakistan are been evacuated fearing a ruthless retaliation from Pakistan. The people from the border villages from Punjab, Rajastahn and Gujarat are been evacuated to secure refugee camps.

The people from the villages like Dauke, in the district of Amritsar are on the move on wo-wheelers, autorickshaws, cars and tractors fearing the terror attack from Pakistan or terrorists. “We have been told that this night is crucial and Pakistan can strike back. So it would not be safe to stay in the village, many have already left,” informed Satnam Singh, husband of Amarjit Kaur, the sarpanch of Dauke. He added that his herself had left a while ago, but he had stayed behind to guard his house against looters.

The people from the villages of Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Gurdaspur are leaving their house in huge numbers as the fear is gripping everyone. Stating that the people are in the state of fear and panic the MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha said, “There are 80 villages under my constituency in Khemkaran within 10km of the border, eight of them virtually touch the fence. Here, the people are in panic. They are leaving their villages, with some going to the houses of their relatives or safer places. The administration has arranged for 10 camps in different parts of Tarn Taran district to accommodate them.”

“People were calm during the initial hours but now they have started leaving the village,” stated a teacher hailing from Rajatal village in Amritsar.

The local government is apparently in the state of confusion and chaos too as they deny that they asked the people to evacuate. “We only made announcements asking people to be ready for any situation in which they may need to go to safer places. We have not asked them to evacuate now. The panic among people is all because of TV reports,” said Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam.

The public are on other hand blaming the local authorities and government for the lack of alternate arrangements. “The government has not arranged anything for us. Some families in our village own vehicles and they have left. What about poor people like us, who don’t even have cycles? Where should we go?” asked one of the resident from Dauke Chanan Singh.  The people who are leaving their villages to move to the safer areas are worried about the looters who would make away with the things while the people are away.  “We had evacuated during the Kargil war and when we returned, there was nothing left in our homes,” remembers Hardeep Singh.

Meanwhile, the US has stated that it has been following the developments in LoC closely since the Indian Army’s surgical strikes. Commenting on this the US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said that they have already vocalized their apprehensions about the terrorism.  We’ve repeatedly expressed our concerns regarding danger that terrorism poses to the region,” he said. Reiterating his concerns over the raising terrorism in the area, he asserted that strong actions need to be taken against the terrorist groups like JeM and LeT.

Kirby however, asserted that both India and Pakistan should maintain the open communication and avoid the escalation of the tensions.

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