Pakistan on Monday claimed that Indian troops violated the ceasefire and killed seven of its soldiers along the Line of Control in Bhimber sector on Sunday night. The Pakistan government has summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to lodge a formal complaint, reported NDTV. “Seven Pakistani soldiers embraced shahadat [martyrdom] at the Line of Control in Bhimber sector in a crossfire violation by Indian troops late last night,” the Pakistani military said in a statement.

This is the first time that Pakistan has admitted to casualties on its side. In September, Pakistan had rebuffed claims of the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army along the LoC as “cross-border firing”. In October, Islamabad had denied claims by the Indian Border Security Force that it had killed seven Pakistani Rangers.

Reports of ceasefire violations by Pakistan have increased since the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes along the LoC on September 29. On November 4, an Indian Army official had told PTI that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire 99 times since the India carried out surgical strikes on “terror launchpads” along the LoC. The official said Islamabad’s troops committed 83 ceasefire violations in the area monitored by 16 Corps and another 16 in the area under 15 corps. According to the news agency, at least 18 people were killed in the cross-border firing, while over 83 others were wounded.