India and Pakistan on Friday held a flag meeting along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in an effort to ease tension after recent incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack, official sources said.
The sources said the brigade-commander level flag meeting took place in the Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point area with both sides highlighting the need to maintain peace.
The 75-minute meeting that started at 11am took place in a congenial atmosphere and both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in the larger interest of peace on the borders, the sources said.
India-Pakistan Flag Meet at LoC Amid Border Tensions
Indian & Pakistani armies to hold a flag meeting at Chakan Da Bagh, Poonch, amid recent firing, sniping & explosions along the LoC. Talks to focus on de-escalation efforts-KNO #IndiaPakistan #LoC #BorderTensions
File Pic pic.twitter.com/NWr4mni9VD— EraofKashmir (@Eraofkashmir1) February 21, 2025
Ceasefire violations have been rare since India and Pakistan renewed the agreement on February 25, 2021.
Two army personnel, including captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi, were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack carried out by suspected terrorists in the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu region on February 11.
The People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had claimed responsibility for the attack in a video clip released on social media.
Two soldiers were injured in cross-border firing along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts, while another army personnel was injured in a landmine explosion last week.
The Indian Army’s retaliatory action also resulted in “heavy casualties” on the Pakistani side.
Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha’s dirctions to army:
On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha had said that the army was responding befittingly and added that clear directions have been issued to the security forces to go full throttle to wipe out terrorism at any cost.
After Captain Bakshi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas were killed in an IED blast near the LoC in Akhnoor on February 11, Sinha had chaired two back-to-back security review meetings at Srinagar and Jammu on February 12 and 13 with top officials. However, chief minister Omar Abdullah was not invited to both the meetings.
On February 13, close on the heels of a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Bhimber Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector, India had hit back strongly inflicting heavy losses to the Pakistan army in the Krishna Ghati sector.
An intelligence official said that Pakistan has been trying to vitiate peace along the LoC by resorting to cross-border firing, sniper fire and carrying out IED blasts with an aim to target Indian soldiers.
On February 10, the general officer commanding of the Jammu-based White Knight Corps, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva, had reviewed “hostile activities” along the LoC in Rajouri district.
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