Indian army chief N.C. Vij Saturday described the incidents of firing at Indian posts in India-controlled Kashmir "by the Pakistani side" along the Line of Control (LoC) this week as of a "trivial nature."

The Indo-Asian News Service reported that Vij refused to offer any reaction to these incidents, saying that "this is a very small bit of firing. One will have to study it before reaching any conclusion."

Talking to reporters in India-controlled Kashmir at the conclusion of his farewell visit to the state, the outgoing army chief also "appreciated restraint" shown by the Indian troops to the ceasefire violations.

"We will wait and watch for a few days before we come to any definite conclusion. It is yet to be determined whether it was some local band or part of a design or some terrorist action," the army chief was quoted as saying.

Vij, who is retiring at the end of this month, said that "the ceasefire is in force and both sides must respect this ceasefire."

The first violation of a 14-month ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani forces was reported Tuesday when a dozen mortar shells were fired at an Indian post in the Poonch sector. Gunfire was reported again from the Line of Control (LoC) Thursday.

Source: Xinhua