Officials say that on Sunday, in honor of Diwali, the Indian Army and the Pakistani Army traded sweets along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. But there wasn’t the usual sharing of sweets and pleasantries along the International Border (IB), according to officials. They said it was because of the tense situation after Pakistan Rangers broke the ceasefire and killed a Border Security Force (BSF) soldier.
A BSF soldier was killed by Pakistani Rangers fire in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district on the night of November 8th and 9th. This was the first death on this side since the two countries agreed to a new truce on February 25, 2021.
Earlier, on October 26, cross-border firing hurt two BSF soldiers and a woman in the Arnia sector of Jammu. On October 17, another BSF soldier was hurt in a similar event.
The BSF and Pakistan Rangers held two flag meetings on the IB in October to make sure that the ceasefire deal was followed, but the most recent event made things even more tense.
They did, however, say that on Diwali, Indian and Pakistani troops traded sweets at the Chakan Da Bagh border crossing point in Poonch district.
Sources say that at the Tatapani crossing in the Balnoi sector of Poonch, greetings and sweets were also shared between the two forces.
A spokesman for the government said that in Samba district, a group of public servants celebrated Diwali with BSF troops watching over the IB.
A spokesperson for the army said that during a visit to the forward border outposts, Additional Deputy Commissioner Samba Suresh Sharma and the tehsildars of Kalsotra, Samba, and Rajpura tehsils gave sweets to the soldiers and sent good wishes their way.
They also talked to the soldiers and praised their bravery and loyalty to protecting the country’s borders, he said.
Sharma thanked the troops for their service and said that the district administration and the defense forces are like a family. He also promised that the administration would help them with their problems and work with them to solve them.
The jawans thanked the administration for showing support and friendship, according to the spokeswoman. They also thanked the administration for being there for them whenever they needed it.
The spokesman said that the Samba government has been very involved in planning different activities to help the people of the district, especially those living near the border.
