LOC Flares Up: 4 Women among 7 Killed

Srinagar—Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy firing along the Line of Control in Kashmir Saturday leaving at least seven persons, including an Indian army officer and his wife dead. At least five civilians, including three women, were killed in the shelling from Indian side in Pakistani part of Kashmir.

Dawn newspaper reported that this was the highest death toll in a single day in many months of cross-border violence in Pakistani part of Kashmir.

At least five civilians, four of them women, were reported killed and 10 others injured in the shelling incidents, the highest death toll in a single day in many months of cross-LOC violence.

“There has been heavy firing and shelling by Indian troops in different parts of Abbaspur and Hajira sectors since 5:30am in the morning,” said Raja Tahir Mumtaz, the deputy commissioner of district Poonch, where these two sectors fall in.

He said Mohammad Sharif, a 75-year-old resident of Bhaira village near the Tetrinote crossing point in Hajira sector, lost his life after a mortar shell landed on his mud-house, destroying it completely.

Apart from him, 70-year-old woman Sassi Begum was also killed in Tetrinote. She had come from Mandhol village in Battal sector to see her relatives in Tetrinote.

DC Mumtaz said Riyasat, 35, and Aqsa Iftikhar, 18, were injured in Tetrinote.

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old woman, Faiza Saleem, was killed and two young girls — Adiba, 22, and Mahnoor, 17 — were injured in Satwal village of Abbaspur sector. They belonged to the same family, Mumtaz said.

Another woman, Kulsoom, 35, was killed and her 14-year-old son Zahid injured in the Dhakki Chafar village of Abbaspur sector, he added.

“Initially, Zahid was injured and when Kulsoom rushed to rescue him, she too fell victim to the shelling and died on the spot,” the deputy commissioner said.

Abida Parveen, 22, was injured in Chafar and two teenaged boys, Rizwan Hanif, 16, and Faizan Ali, 14, were injured in Batol and Chaatra villages of the same sector, he added.

“These are the initial reports, but given the magnitude of shelling, I am afraid the casualties may rise,” the deputy commissioner said.

In Kotli district, a 22-year-old girl, Aniba Jamshed, was critically injured in Indian firing in the Lanjot village of Nakyal sector at about 6:30am.

“A bullet fired by the Indian troops hit her in the head, rendering her critically wounded,” a police official told Dawn from Nakyal police station, adding that she was rushed to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli.

“The woman [later] succumbed to her injuries in the afternoon,” SSP Kotli Chaudhry Zulqarnain Sarfraz said.

Elsewhere in the same sector, two men — Mohammad Ilyas and Jahangir — were injured in the Oli Panjni village, he added.

The heavily militarised LoC that splits the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir between Pakistan and India has been extremely tense for quite some time, and as a result civilian casualties occur frequently.

The latest casualties have pushed the number of those killed in Pakistani side of Kashmir in Indian shelling during the ongoing year to 18 and those injured to over 105, according to officials at the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

Meanwhile an army man, who had come on a leave to spend time with his family, and his wife were killed and their two daughters are among three injured in Pakistani troops firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Defence spokesman in Jammu, Lt Colonel Manish Mehta said Pakistan Army breached the ceasefire and resorted to indiscriminate firing from small and automatics arms on army positions and civilian areas along LoC in Poonch district from 06.30 am.

He said the Pakistani troops also resorted to heavy mortar shelling.

The army men effectively and strongly retaliated, Mehta said.

The Pakistani troops firing and mortar shelling took place in Gulpur sector in Poonch district.

A police official said some mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops in Gulpur sector landed in civilian areas.

He said a mortar shell landed near the house of Territorial Army soldier Mohammad Showkat in Karmara village near the LoC.

35-year-old Showkat and his 30-year-old wife Safiya were killed after sustaining critical splinter injuries of mortar shell, the official said.

Their two daughters Rubeena Kousar and Zahida Kousar and another girl Nazia Kousar daughter of Mohammad Mushtaq were injured.

Pakistan Summons Indian Envoy

Pakistan on Saturday summoned India’s deputy high commissioner in Islamabad over alleged firing along the Line of Control that killed two persons and injured three others.

Earlier, Pakistan accused India of violating the ceasefire along the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in which two persons were killed and three others injured, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.

Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was summoned over the alleged firing by Indian forces in Chirikot and Satwal sectors, the statement said.

The firing allegedly resulted in killing two civilians, including a woman. Three other people were injured. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that Director-General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces”.

“The Director-General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC,” the Foreign Office said.

In response, India told the Pakistan DG that the ceasefire violations were initiated by Pakistani troops in Poonch and Krishnaghati sectors and the Indian forces only responded appropriately. A strong protest was also lodged over the death of two Indian civilians in Saturday’s ceasefire violations.

Further, a serious concerns over attacks on civilian areas, increased movement of terrorists and infiltration attempts across LOC were conveyed to Pakistan. They were also informed that there have been more than 223 ceasefire violations and around 50 infiltration attempts by terrorist from Pakistani side this year alone.

Meanwhile, army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said that “Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to Indian unprovoked firing”. The latest clashes erupted on the death anniversary of militant commander Burhan Wani who was killed in Kashmir last year.

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