“Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted all of us on this serious issue, and the Indian Army entered the Pakistani area and killed the militants,” the Home Minister said.

Meanwhile, concern is rising across the security establishment over the worsening situation along the Indo-Pakistan border, where casualties from cross-border firing have now climbed beyond all recent trends. “There seems to be no strategy at all. The situation is getting out of hand, ceasefire is as good as over,” a former Intelligence agency chief said, as yet another soldier and a civilian were killed along the border.

The Army said Signalman Chandan Kumar Rai was grievously injured in Mendhar sector along the Line of Control on Saturday, and he succumbed to injuries on Sunday. It said the Pakistani Army initiated “unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms and automatics” on Saturday.

On Sunday, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling along the International Border in Jammu. Two brothers were injured when shells hit their house in Kanachak-Pragwal sector. One of them, Gopal, later died,” a senior police official said

The Pakistan Foreign Office meanwhile summoned Indian deputy high commissioner J.P. Singh to Islamabad and condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violations” by Indian troops.

It said 18 Indian posts resorted to “unprovoked firing with mortars and heavy weapons”, resulting in the death of two civilians on its side, and injury to a few others. “The repeated ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” Pakistan warned.

Worsening situation

The situation along the border continued to be volatile for the fourth day on Sunday, with 11 people dead and at least 15 people, including two security personnel, injured in Pakistani firing in January. In 2017, the region saw 12 deaths.

Over 20,000 people living in border villages have been shifted to safer localities.