On Sunday night, the Army said, jawans patrolling the LoC in Kamalkote sector in Uri noticed some movement near the Zero Line. “When the men on duty challenged the infiltrators, they came under fire from the bunkers from the Pakistani side. The Army retaliated and the exchange of fire continued till midnight.”

The Indian Army has blamed the Pakistani counterpart for providing cover to the infiltrators who were trying to sneak into the Valley.

Defence spokesman Col Birjesh Pandey told The Indian Express that Pakistani soldiers fired on the Indian pickets in Uri sector.

“This is the first ceasefire violation in the area by the Pakistan army since the announcement of the ceasefire between the two neighbours nine years ago,’’ he said.

Pandey said the exchange of gunfire continued for 40 minutes with both sides using light weapons.

“After the firing ended, the Army searched the area, but nothing was found there.”, Pandey said.

He added that this could have been a ploy to push the militants on the Indian side.

Sources said the Army would register a formal complaint with the Pakistani side on the issue.

Following the ceasefire violation, security on the LoC has been beefed up.

The sources said ceasefire violations by the Pakistani side are expected to increase as they are desperate to push in militants into the Valley ahead of the onset of winter.

Ganderbal: Combing ops continue

The combing operation launched by a joint party of the J-K Police and the Army after an encounter with militants in Ganderbal district on Saturday morning continued for the third day on Monday.

Two militants have been killed in the encounter so far. On Monday, the combing operation continued in the forests of Chattergul in Kangan in central Kashmir.