Pakistan violates ceasefire in J&K's Kupwara district, militants holed up

Even as Indo-Pak National Security Agency (NSA) level talks seems to be in jeopardy, reports of fresh ceasefire violations on Saturday night are coming in from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Srinagar: A gun-battle between security forces and militants is currently underway at Handwara region of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

“An encounter between security forces and militants are underway in Handwara here,” news agency ANI quoted security forces as saying.

The officials further said, “2-4 militants believed to be holed up inside a house.”

The development comes hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gave a strong message to Pakistan, saying if the Hurriyat leaders are kept away and issues other than terror are not raised by Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz, he was welcome to come for the talks.

Further details are awaited.