Woman among two martyred in Indian firing across LoC

• Foreign Office records protest with Indian diplomat

RAWALPINDI: A woman and a man were killed while at least five others, including a teenager, were injured on Friday when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The casualties occurred in Poonch district’s Abbaspur town ─ the same area where an elderly woman was killed in an incident of firing by Indian troops two days earlier ─ and in Nezapir sector of the neighbouring Haveli district.

“They (Indian troops) started shelling at about 7am without any provocation. Shelling continued intermittently after,” said a police official.

In Poonch district, Rashida Begum, a 55-year-old widow of a police constable, was critically injured in Taroti Bala Galli village after shrapnel from a mortar shell hit her, he said, adding that she had succumbed to her wounds on way to the hospital.

Abdul Aziz Shaikh, a retired junior grade employee of the education department, was injured after splinters pierced his left thigh in Taroti village, he said.

In Nezapir sector, Mohammad Hanif, 52, was killed and five others were wounded due to heavy shelling by Indian forces.

The injured were identified as Shafqat Hussain, 35, Khadija Bibi, 44, Mohammad Ismail, 40 and a 15-year-old girl.

FO SUMMONS INDIAN ENVOY TO RECORD PROTEST:

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to record a protest over the cross-border attack along the LoC.

FO’s South Asia chief, Dr Mohammad Faisal, handed over a protest letter to Indian diplomat JP Singh and condemned the repeated ceasefire violations by India that resulted in the martyrdom of two civilians and injuries to five others.

During his weekly briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal had denounced India’s continuing violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement at the Line of Control (LoC). He highlighted that India has violated the agreement 1,300 times during this year resulting in the deaths of 50 civilians and 165 people being injured.

On Friday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had visited the LoC along with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, where he strongly condemned India’s “unprofessional approach” of targeting innocent civilians from across the divide.

At the recently held 44th annual meeting between Pakistan Rangers and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi, the loss of innocent lives as a result of ceasefire violations and unprovoked firing was discussed along with other things.

The leaders of the two forces had agreed to revive the spirit of the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two armies to overcome this ordeal.