Himalayan News Service

Jammu, January 22:

Indian Army chief NC Vij today described the incidents of firing at Indian posts in Jammu and Kashmir by the Pakistani side along the Line of Control (LoC) this week as of a “trivial nature”.

He refused to offer any reaction to these incidents saying, “This is a very small bit of firing. One will have to study it before reaching any conclusion.” “These ceasefire violations are of a trivial nature.” Talking to reporters in Jammu at the conclusion of his farewell visit to the state, the outgoing army chief also appreciated restraint shown by the Indian troops to the ceasefire violations.

“We will wait and watch for a few days before we come to any definite conclusion. It is yet to be determined whether it was some local band or part of a design or some terrorist action,” the army chief said. Vij, who is retiring at the end of this month, said: “The ceasefire is in force and both sides must respect this ceasefire.” The first violation of a 13-month ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani forces was reported on Tuesday when a dozen mortar shells were fired at an Indian post in the Poonch sector.

Meanwhile, in Jammu, Indian paramilitary forces killed four terrorists in a remote and hilly area of Kashmir’s Udhampur district today.