NEW DELHI: In the absence of any diplomatic detente, the deadly war ofattrition between India and Pakistan along the 778-km Line of Control (LoC)and 198-km International Boundary (IB) in Jammu & Kashmir has taken a sharpturn for the worse, Times of India has reported.

India claims 860 ceasefire violations along the LoC and another 120 alongthe IB in 2017, the highest-ever such tally in over 15 years. The number ofCFVs has already touched 241 across the LoC in the first 36 days of thisyear, claiming the lives of nine Indian soldiers, as per Army.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat says the Pak Army is “suffering morecasualties compared to us” in the CFVs. Given the current mood, these longand bloody tit-for-tat fire assaults across the border, with even lightartillery guns, heavy mortars and anti-tank guided missiles are not goingto ebb anytime soon.

A day after 4 Indians soldiers and officers were killed in heavy shellingby Pakistani forces in Rajouri district, Army vice-chief Lt-General SarathChand link> on Monday warned ofstrong retaliatory action to avenge the losses. “That (retaliation) goeswithout saying. I think I don’t have to say that. (Our) action will speakfor itself,” he said.

[image: tension-ed]

Indian soldiers have also paid a heavy price. Of the 62 who laid down theirlives in J&K last year, 15 were killed in CFVs, 17 in infiltration andother incidents along the LoC and 30 in counter-terrorism operations in thehinterland.

“I don’t think the situation will get better in the short term. Theatmosphere has been completely vitiated.

It leaves no space for any confidence-building like a ceasefire agreement,”said former Northern Army Commandlink> chief, Lt-Gen D SHooda (retd), who oversaw the “surgical strikes” on September 29, 2016.