While there was no official word from Inter-Services Public Relations — the military’s media wing — or local law enforcement, reports shared by locals on social media suggested that heavy and artillery fire was heard at several points along the border with India in the Zafarwal sector.
According to military sources, the firing began after a drone attempted to intrude into Pakistani territory, which was shot down by Pakistani forces.
But Indian forces — ostensibly in a bid to cover up the failed attempt at an incursion — opened indiscriminate fire on Pakistani posts along the Working Boundary.
Sources said that Pakistani forces gave a “befitting response” to the Indian aggression.
Several Pakistani users on X (formerly Twitter) posted videos containing sounds of heavy gun and artillery fire, in the dead of night, but these could not be independently verified.
Two Border Security Force (BSF) men and a woman were injured as many civilians abandoned their homes to take shelter in safe areas after Pakistan Rangers resorted to heavy firing and shelling along the International Border in Arnia and Suchetgarh sectors of Jammu district on Thursday night.
In a statement, the BSF said: “Tonight at about 8 unprovoked firing started by Pakistan Rangers on BSF posts in Arnia area which is being befittingly retaliated by the BSF troops."
In Arnia sector, the firing targeted half a dozen forward villages after which the Pakistani troopers expanded the firing to three villages of Suchetgarh sector.
A few mortar shells were also fired by the Rangers targeting civilian areas.
Police said heavy firing continued till 11 pm after which intermittent firing was on.
The two BSF jawans injured in the firing in Arnia sector were identified as Basavraj from Karnataka and Sher Singh.
The Injured woman was identified as Rajni Bala (38), resident of Arnia.
The injured were evacuated and admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, where their condition is said to be stable.
Panic gripped the border dwellers as firing started from the Pakistan side.
A number of labourers, who had come to work in the fields, were the first to desert the villages to take shelter in safe areas.
Thursday's round of firing and shelling by Pakistan Rangers comes over a week after two BSF personnel were injured following unprovoked firing by the Rangers in the same sector on October 17.
