The Indian Army said that a soldier was killed on Wednesday in shelling by the Pakistani military along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district following Operation Sindoor. The civilian toll in the firing by the Pakistan Army increased increased to 12, The Hindu reported.

Pakistan shelled villages in four districts close to the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the newspaper reported. Those killed included three women and three children. Fifty-one civilians were injured.

The shelling by Pakistan on Wednesday came after the Indian military earlier in the day carried out strikes on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack. Nine sites were targeted.

The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling and firing in Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Jammu division, and Kupwara and Baramulla districts in the Kashmir valley, according to The Hindu.

Pakistan continued firing along the Line of Control on Wednesday night.

The Pakistani military “resorted to unprovoked fire using small arms and artillery guns” along the Line of Control in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri and Akhnoor areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army said.

The Indian Army said that it had “responded proportionately”.

The soldier who died was identified by the Indian Army as Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of 5 Field Regiment.

“We also stand in solidarity with all victims of the targeted attacks on innocent civilians in Poonch sector,” the army said on Wednesday night.

In light of the shelling, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired an emergency meeting with the deputy commissioners of border districts to assess the situation, The Hindu reported.

The chief minister ordered the release of Rs 5 crore to each border district and Rs 2 crore to other districts to ensure that deputy commissioners were “equipped to deal with the exigencies arising and requiring availability of adequate resources”.

At least 26 persons were killed in Pakistan in India’s strikes, reported AFP. Islamabad claimed that the strikes killed and injured several civilians and called the operation a violation of its sovereignty.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday that the strikes “targeted only those who killed our innocent persons”.

Operation Sindoor was carried out with “precision, alertness and humanity” to ensure that civilians were not affected, Singh said, reiterating India’s position that the action was “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.

Pakistan’s National Security Committee said on Wednesday that it had authorised its armed forces to respond to Operation Sindoor.

The Indian armed forces said that they were fully prepared to respond to “Pakistani misadventures” that could escalate the hostilities between the two countries.

The terror attack at the Baisaran area near Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

India and Pakistan had fired diplomatic salvoes at each other following the Pahalgam attack, such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and bilateral trade, and expelling diplomats.

Pakistan repeatedly violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control since the Pahalgam attack, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army.

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