Srinagar: In the first major provocation by Pakistan since Operation Sindoor, an Indian Army soldier was killed in action during a Pakistan-backed infiltration attempt in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector late on August 12, official sources confirmed.
According to Army sources, the incident was not a routine infiltration bid. The group of intruders, believed to be terrorists backed by Pakistan’s Border Action Teams, received direct firing support from the Pakistan Army. As Indian troops engaged them, a fierce exchange of fire ensued, during which a soldier sustained fatal injuries. While the infiltration attempt was foiled, the intruders managed to flee under the cover of bad weather. An official statement from the Army is awaited.
The incident marks the first significant flare-up along the Line of Control since the uneasy calm following Operation Sindoor — India’s retaliatory strikes in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. After targeted Indian airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Pakistan’s drone attacks along India’s western border, both sides had agreed to a ceasefire initiated by Islamabad.
Tensions have been simmering in recent months, with Pakistani leaders making provocative statements. Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, recently courted global controversy by threatening nuclear strikes, claiming Pakistan could “take down half the world” in the event of a war with India.
India dismissed the remarks as “nuclear sabre-rattling,” calling it Pakistan’s “stock-in-trade” and expressing regret that such irresponsible statements were made from the soil of a friendly third country. The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that India will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and will take all necessary measures to safeguard national security.
