It was a routine day for the Indian Army patrol that was setting up a surveillance position along the Line of Control in Nowgam sector. Just like any other time in the past four years, soldiers were putting up equipment near the border to keep a look-out for insurgents — but with the ceasefire agreement holding, moving around in daytime in full view of Pakistani soldiers did not seem threatening.

Things started changing at about 3.00 pm on July 28 when a group of 15 soldiers from the bordering country, bearing a white flag, walked into the Indian side of the border. As troops watched, Pakistan soldiers crossed more than 200 metres into Indian territory and demanded that the post be dismantled. It was the first incident of its kind in the country.

In an ensuing altercation that neither side is still very forthcoming about, a Pakistani soldier opened fire, killing an Indian jawan. In retaliatory fire from Indian posts, seven Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, were gunned down.

And, with this came to light a new trend along the 788-km LoC that had remained peaceful since the November 2003 ceasefire agreement. While the agreement still holds, a series of fairly low-level incidents that have taken place along the border in the past two months have opened up a new front for the Indian Army.

In several cases — including three between August 8 and 16 in the Kamalkote area — armed personnel crossed into Indian territory to fire at forward posts. Although most such attacks are not enough to cause serious damage, they do hamper Indian troops from carrying out patrols. This ‘trend’ points towards a tactical change from Pakistan, made more notable now with Musharraf out of power and the US cracking down on the country’s role in training terrorist outfits — this series of small-scale incidents keep the situation at the LoC volatile, but mask any possible support from Pakistan to militants.

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