Pakistan violates truce, continues drone attacks

New Delhi: Pakistan has violated the bilateral understanding reached on Friday afternoon to immediately stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, the union government said on Saturday night. This came hours after India announced the understanding following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries teetering on the edge of full-scale war. Blackouts continued at many places along Line of Control (LoC) as Pakistan military continued its strikes even after the ceasefire agreement.

Jammu and Kashmir was shaken by a series of drone sightings followed by explosions, prompting security personnel to engage air defence systems to bring them down. The episodes in Kashmir as well as Jammu province evoked severe concerns of possible violation by Pakistan of the freshly announced truce, officials said. In Srinagar, citizens reported several blasts after dusk, with air defence forces engaging a drone flying over the Batwara neighborhood, close to a strategic Army facility. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced late in the night that Pakistan violated understanding reached on stopping firings. “This is breach of understanding. Indian Armed Forces are giving appropriate response to Pakistani actions,” the Foreign Secretary said.