India-Pakistan Border Tension: Will Ceasefire Violations Lead to War?

A war-like situation has developed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch after repeated ceasefire violation by Pakistani army last week led to heavy cross-firing between the troops in the border.

Pakistani troops violated ceasefire in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir last week, killing five Indian soldiers in an ambush, before violating again on Friday and in the weekend. They reportedly breached ceasefire five times in the last two days, forcing the Indian troops to retaliate.

A couple of days after warning Pakistan not to take advantage of 'India's restraint' Defence Minister AK Antony has finally given the green signal to Indian army to strike back aggressively should Pakistani army continue to violate ceasefire.

"The armed forces have freedom to respond to the developing situation there appropriately," Antony told reporters during the launch of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, hinting that India is no more going to act with "restraint" like in the past.

A fierce exchange of firing was reported along the border on Sunday.

"Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing from across the LoC in Digwar village of Poonch district at our positions around 10 pm last night (Sunday)," a Defence spokesman told IANS.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that Indian troops retaliated after Pakistan repeatedly violated ceasefire.

However, Pakistan claimed that Indian troops fired shells in the Battal, Chirikot and Satwal sectors on Monday, killing a civilian. An official told Reuters that Pakistani trroops are responding to India's firing effectively.

The alleged violation of ceasefire has not only brought about tension in the border region but also could badly affect the two countries' diplomatic relations.

The neighbouring countries have been trying to resume peace talks and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in New York next month, but there are possibilities of cutting off all ties if the situation in the border region doesn't improve.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh has asked the PM to sever all diplomatic ties with Pakistan, including cancelling the PM's plan to meet Sharif next month. He told at a public rally that "time has come to give a befitting reply to Pakistan. The Indian high commissioner to Pakistan should be called back immediately and India-Pakistan diplomatic relations should be scaled down."