New Delhi: As many as 5,601 ceasefire violations by Pakistan were reported along the Line of Control (LoC) in the last two years and Indian troops responded to them by inflicting "substantial damage" on Pakistani posts and personnel, the government said in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, replying to a question, also said that the Indian troops deployed on forward posts enjoy complete "freedom of action" to respond to Pakistan's ceasefire violations.
"A total of 5,601 instances of ceasefire violations were reported along the LoC under the operational control of Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir from November 30, 2019, to November 29, 2021," he said.
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Bhatt said "substantial damage" was inflicted on Pakistani posts and personnel during retaliation by the Indian Army.
"Troops deployed on forward posts enjoy complete freedom of action in responding to Pakistan ceasefire violations. Substantial damage was inflicted on Pakistan posts and personnel during retaliation by the Indian Army," he added.
To a separate question, Bhatt said a total of 194 industrial licenses have been issued to private companies for manufacturing items like ammunition, artillery guns, howitzers, air defence guns, destroyers, frigates, night-vision devices, ballistic protection items and radars in the last five years.
"License to manufacture defence equipment is granted by the licensing authorities namely, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Ministry of Home Affairs under Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and Arms Act respectively, in consultation with Ministry of Defence," he said.
PTI
