New Delhi (Sputnik): After a several-day lull, the armies of India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged heavy fire and shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. The firing started in the early morning on Monday; one civilian was injured when a mortar shell fell near his house. The Indian Army alleged that Pakistan had initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing using small arms along the LoC in the Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch district at 7:45 a.m. local time.
"Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing with small arms along LoC in the Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch district. The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," an Indian army spokesperson said.
"Keeping in view the cross-border shelling, schools falling within the shelling range in Shahpur, Mandaar, Kirni, and part of Qasba including HSS Islamabad shall remain closed today, 1 April 2019," the deputy commissioner of Poonch directed.
The injured civilian, who has been identified as Muhammad Sharif, was hit by debris fragments in the shelling. "He was shifted to district hospital Poonch for treatment," a police official told Sputnik.