Indian shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday injured at least eight civilians, including four women, in Azad Jammu Kashmir’s Kotli district.
The shelling that began in the morning targeted different villages in Khuiratta sector of Kotli district and has been described it as the “heaviest” shelling in many weeks.
A resident of Khuiratta sector told a local media outlet that the Indian forces “targeted civilian populations with heavy weapons, scaring women and children”.
Kotli Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Irfan Saleem confirmed that at least eight people were wounded in the village of Sehri Chattar in Khuiratta.
The wounded are identified as Shahnawaz, 24, his 18-year-old brother Ehtisham, 25-year-old Muhammad Farooq, 35-year-old Fareeha, her 16-year-old daughter Amina Ilyas, 40-year-old Shaheena, 25-year-old Tussaraf Begum, and 50-year-old Muhammad Fiaz.
One of the injured, Amina, was referred to Rawalpindi on account of her critical condition, while all other injured were treated at Kotli’s District Headquarters Hospital, said Medical Superintendent Dr Tariq Mehmood.
However, there has been no statement as yet from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on the situation along the LoC.
SSP Saleem said that the Charhoi sector in Kotli had also been targeted by Indian troops but fortunately no casualty was reported from there.
Last month also several cease-fire violations were reported on LoC and International Border (IB) in Kashmir. The skirmishes led to killings of troops as well as civilians on both sides, besides triggering migrations of civilian population living close to the frontier.
Both India and Pakistan accuse each other of resorting to unprovoked firings and violating cease-fire agreements. And both sides maintain that their troops gave a befitting reply.
