One jawan, four Pak soldiers killed in New Year ceasefire violation

In an unwelcome New Year greeting, Pakistan's armed forces attacked 12 Indian posts late on Wednesday night across the international border along Jammu & Kashmir, in the same area where just hours earlier cross border firing killed an Indian jawan and four Pakistani soldiers as India's Border Security Force retaliated.

Reports say a civilian was injured in mortar shelling by Pakistani troops through the night in Samba district, 41 km from Jammu. This is the third ceasefire violation by Pakistan in two days.

Pakistan had on Wednesday evening summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh in Islamabad to register protest after four of its rangers were killed in retaliatory fire by India after a jawan was killed. Pakistani Rangers had fired on Indian soldiers patrolling the border.

Indian troops stopped firing when the Rangers raised a white flag, asking for time to remove the bodies.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, after being briefed about the death of Constable Ram Gowria, had asked the forces to give a "suitable and appropriate reply for any such unprovoked firing," an official statement said.

Pakistan said it had summoned the Indian envoy to protest against the "Shahadat (martyrdom) of two personnel of Pakistani Rangers".

On Tuesday, defence minister Manohar Parrikar had said the Indian Army would retaliate with "double the force" to any ceasefire violation by Pakistan.

Cross-border violence over recent months has been the worst in over a decade. In October, at least 20 civilians were killed on both sides. The worst violence was in the Kashmir Valley in early December, when terrorists killed 11 Indian soldiers and police in the middle of elections in the state.