Pakistan on Thursday allegedly violated ceasefire across the Line of Control in Rajouri’s Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir, a Defence Public Relations Officer said. The official said the Indian Army retaliated effectively, PTI reported.

The reports came hours after Pakistani forces allegedly violated the ceasefire in Poonch district on Thursday morning. Both countries exchanged heavy fire, Defence Ministry spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand told reporters in Jammu.

The public relations officer said authorities have asked locals to refrain from stepping outside their homes amid the shelling. “At about 2.14 pm, the Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms firing along the Line of Control in Nowshera sector in Rajouri, violating the ceasefire,” the official said.

Mendhar and Balakote sectors in the state also witnessed heavy shelling through Wednesday night, NDTV reported. Pakistan Rangers had allegedly violated ceasefire in Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors in Rajouri on Wednesday.

The local administration has asked educational institutes in the region to remain closed temporarily.

Pakistani jets allegedly violated Indian airspace on Wednesday, and claimed to have shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft. Pakistan also captured an IAF pilot. India has refuted the claim of its jet being downed and said it downed a Pakistani F-16 jet.

The Pakistani violation on Wednesday was in retaliation to an IAF strike in Balakot, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Tuesday, to eliminate a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp.