India, Pak troops hold flag meet on LoC in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jul 29: Guns fell silent on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir after more than 12-hour-long fierce exchange of fire, as India and Pakistani troops started a flag meeting.

The guns from both sides are silent since 0430 hrs this morning after the night-long intermittent firing, a Defence spokesman said. He said ''the field commanders from both the sides are discussing the issue, which has arisen after Pakistani troops opened fire on one of our post, killing a soldier.'' The spokesman said the meeting was still going on when the reports came in last. The trouble on the border started on Sunday, July 28 afternoon at 1530 hrs, when a group of 10 to 12 Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC and entered this side at Eagle post in Nowgam sector in the frontier district of Kupwara.

Besides arms, the Pakistani troops were holding a white flag, he said, adding they were objecting to a tower on this side. However, when the troops were fleeing back into the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), they opened fire targetting the post. Indian troops also retaliated, he said. ''We lost one solider,'' he said, adding causalties suffered by the other side was not known.

This was for the first time, when Pakistani troops opened fire on Indian positions since the two countries agreed for a ceasefire in 2003.

UNI