Jammu, Jan 29 (PTI) Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Friday as they opened heavy fire and lobbed mortars at forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, prompting a befitting retaliation from the Indian Army, officials said.

This comes a day after a 20-year-old man was injured in shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Shahpur sector of Poonch district.

"At 1800 hours today (Friday), the Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri," a defence spokesperson said.

The Indian Army retaliated befittingly, he said.

In 2020, over 5,400 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the highest in the past 19 years, were recorded along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 36 people were killed and over 130 injured in these ceasefire violations, according to the officials.

They said the shelling and firing by Pakistani troops last year was "very heavy", virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce redundant.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)