Pakistani troops fired with small arms and shelled mortars along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Tuesday, killing an Indian soldier and wounding two, including an officer, PTI reported. The injured soldiers have been taken to a military hospital.

“Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars,” a defence spokesperson said. “Some injuries have been reported.” The Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani firing. The Pakistan Army also suffered casualties in retaliatory action but details are awaited, unidentified officials said.

More than 3,000 ceasefire violations have been reported this year, according to NDTV.

“Pakistan is trying to push terrorists and smuggle weapons into Jammu and Kashmir,” an unidentified officer said. “The number of ceasefire violations is clear indication that they want to keep the pot boiling when the Army is engaged in a border row with China.”

Tensions between India and China have risen after a violent clash between armies of the two countries in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers. The two sides remain locked in a standoff along the border, with occasional violations of territorial integrity and skirmishes.

India-Pakistan firing

On September 1, an Indian Army officer was killed during ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Rajouri. He was the ninth soldier to be killed along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri sectors in the last three months.

Since January 1, 2018, Pakistan has violated ceasefire agreements over 8,500 times in Jammu and Kashmir, a Right to Information reply from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has said.