RAWALPINDI, Jan 17: Pakistan has rejected India’s allegation of ceasefire violation. The statement of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to this effect was ludicrous and fabricated, said a spokesman of the Pakistan Army on Wednesday.

A BSF spokesman had accused Pakistan of firing 16 mortar shells on Indian positions in Poonch sector wounding a girl, in what he called the first violation of the ceasefire along the Line of Control after over 13 months.

He said one of the shells landed at a house of one Amarnath in Azad Mohallah of Poonch town, injuring his daughter Abiluchi.

However, Brig Katock, an Indian Army spokesman, was quoted as saying that “at present we would not like to accuse the Pakistan Army of firing as we have to first investigate whether militants have fired from across the LoC.”

“We do not think that the Pakistan Army would like to break the Indo-Pakistan ceasefire which is completely holding on our side,” Brig Katock said.

He said firing of mortar shells could be aimed at providing cover to infiltrating militants as five of them were killed in Poonch sector on Wednesday.

While rejecting the Indian claim of firing by Pakistan Rangers, the Pakistan Army spokesman said that the reality was totally different.

Giving details, he said that at about 2:15am on January 17, two BSF posts located north of Najwal village in held Kashmir fired seven illuminating rounds, followed by light machine gun and small arms fire, which continued intermittently till 3:20am.

The Pakistan Rangers did not fire a single shot, he said.

The BSF posts were located opposite village Rampura in Pukhlian area of Sialkot district.

In the morning, when the Rangers inquired of the BSF about the cause of firing the previous night, the BSF informed that they had suspected some movement, said the spokesman, adding that the Pakistan Rangers had asked for a wing commander-level meeting for inquiring into the incident.

He pointed out that it was not the first incident in which the BSF had resorted to firing on the working boundary. There had been few such incidents in the past on which Pakistan had lodged protest and took up a case with Indian authorities, he added.

In this case also, Pakistan side had asked for a flag meeting at local level to resolve the issue, he said.

AFP adds: BSF Deputy Inspector General K Srinivasan told AFP on phone from New Delhi that India would lodge a ‘strong protest’ with Pakistan after two Indians were wounded on Wednesday in gun fire from across the border in the divided Kashmir region.

“We are lodging a strong protest with Pakistan right now,” said Srinivasan.

Indian forces came under fire before dawn while patrolling the Line of Control (LoC) in southern Akhnoor district, outside Jammu, he said, adding that an officer and a constable were injured.

A BSF spokesman in Kashmir had earlier accused Pakistani troops of providing covering fire for a group of 10 suspected militants crossing into India.