Sniper fire from Pakistan injured an Indian soldier in Kupwara district of Kashmir on Friday night, marking the second violation in three days of the 2021 ceasefire.

A senior official, however, said the ceasefire was holding.

The injured soldier, Saurav Kumar, has been flown to the army’s 92-base hospital in Srinagar, where he is said to be stable and out of danger.

“The Pakistan army fired a sniper shot at an Indian army post in the Keran sector on Friday evening,” an official said.

On Tuesday night, two BSF jawans were injured in what the force said was unprovoked firing by Pakistani Rangers at a forward post along the border in Arnia sector of Jammu district.

Both injured jawans --- constables Alok Saha, 44, and Surajit Biswas, 35 – are from Bengal and had been posted with 120 Battalion of the BSF. The border force had said it had retaliated strongly to the Pakistani firing.

Jammu and Kashmir director-general of police Dilbagh Singh on Saturday said both the forces (the army and the BSF) were investigating the two incidents, which he said were different from routine firings.

He told reporters that the reasons for the two incidents and how they happened would “come out”.

“But the overall ceasefire understanding is holding. We have a very strong security grid on the border (to challenge any violation),” Singh said.

The ceasefire between the two countries, announced in February 2021, has largely held so far. Officials said there had only been a few minor violations before the latest two.