Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that 1,248 cases of ceasefire violations and four casualties had been reported by the Army this year. Singh said that 203 cases of ceasefire violation were reported in January while 215 were reported in February, PTI reported.

He added that 267 cases had been reported in March with three casualties while 234 and 221 cases were reported in April and May. In June, 108 cases of ceasefire violation were reported with one casualty. The defence minister was responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha.

“Also all violations of ceasefire and infiltration are taken up with Pakistani authorities at the appropriate level through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meeting, directorate generals of military operations talks as well as diplomatic channels between the two countries,” PTI quoted Singh as saying.

Responding to another question, Singh said the Army had sustained 34 fatal casualties in its counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir between 2016 and June 2019. The Assam Rifles/Army had reported 12 casualties between 2016 and June 2019 during the counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast.