Pakistan targets civilians, PM Narendra Modi chairs high-level meet to discuss border situation

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meet to discuss the security along India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir as shelling and cross-border firing by Pakistani troops killed eight civilians.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval attended the meet.

Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar, and Ajit Doval had on Tuesday reviewed the security along the India-Pakistan border.

Army Chief, Gen Dalbir Singh, was also present at the meeting, which was dubbed "routine review meeting".

On Tuesday, heavy shelling of hamlets and military posts was witnessed in Samba, Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts along the International Border and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Eight civilians, including five women, were killed and 14 others injured on Tuesday as Pakistan troopers bombarded several border areas of Jammu and Kashmir with heavy mortar shells, triggering a mass exodus from dozens of frontier villages, officials said.

The Border Security Force said it destroyed 14 Pakistan outposts in retaliation after the civilian casualties in India.