India, Pak security forces exchange sweets along LoC, IB

Jammu, Jul 21 (PTI):
Security forces of India and Pakistan exchanged sweets along the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha on Wednesday, officials said. Officials of the Indian and Pakistani armies exchanged sweets at Poonch-Rawalakot and Mendhar-Hotspring crossing points along the LoC in Poonch district.
They said the ceremony is seen as an enhanced confidence-building measure in the backdrop of a ceasefire between both countries. Greetings and best wishes for peace and harmony were conveyed to the Pakistani Army representatives. The gesture was appreciated by both the armies and is expected to further promote goodwill and mutual trust, they said.
On the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers greeted each other and exchanged sweets in Hira Nagar, Samba, Ramgarh, R S Pura, Arnia, Pargwal sectors of the International Border of Jammu, officials said.
This is the first exchange of sweets between the two border guarding forces after the Pulwama incident. There was no cross-border shelling for long and farmers on both sides of the border have been able to carry out their farming activities peacefully, they said.
Forty CRPF personnel were killed when their bus in a long convoy of over 70 vehicles plying from Jammu to Srinagar was bombed on February 14, 2019, by a Jais-e-Mohammed suicide bomber. Soon after, India carried out an aerial strike on a terrorist training camp of the terror group in Pakistan’s Balakot.
India and Pakistan had on February 25 this year released a joint statement announcing a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, following talks between their Directors General of Military Operations.
The two countries had earlier signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003 but it was repeatedly violated leading to deaths and injuries to civilians and troops on either side.