Pak denies rocket attack, India lodges protest

AMRITSAR: In the second cross-border attack in nearly two months, four rockets smashed into villages in Punjab, shattering the quiet night and triggering a major scare. The attack forced BSF - perhaps for the first time - to retaliate with machine gun and mortar fire.

The BSF has lodged a strong protest with the Pak Rangers. It sounded an alert along the border late on Friday night. The attack happened the very day the BSF deployed its first female contingent along the international border in the Punjab sector.

There was no damage or casualties on the Indian side, BSF inspector-general Himmat Singh said. The 107 mm rockets landed in fields near Attari, about 2 km into India. The affected villages were Modhey, Rattan Kalan, Dalkae and Dhoneya Khurd.

BSF commandant Baljit Dhillon held a flag meeting with the Rangers at 1 am on Saturday and lodged a strong protest with wing commander Akbar Bhatt, who surprisingly denied all knowledge of the attack or the role of the Pakistan army.

Sources said armed men belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group now operate in Pakistani Punjab and could be responsible for the attack. In July, Pakistani security forces seized weapons, including 107 mm rockets with a range of 8mm ��� the kind used on Friday ��� from LeT men arrested at Dera Gazhi Khan.

On Saturday morning, Himmat Singh and DIG Mohammed Aquil inspected the blast sites and met villagers in a bid to restore confidence among them. Farmers with land near the border fence insisted on going to work on Saturday. ���We have provided them security cover,������ Aquil said.