RAWALPINDI: Civilians were targeted in unprovoked firing by the Indian troops along the Working Boundary (WB) in Harpal and Charwah sectors, the military’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.
“Indian troops initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation along Working Boundary targeting civil population with mortars and heavy weapons in Harpal and Charwah Sector since early morning,” the ISPR said.
Pakistan Rangers Punjab retaliated and targeted the Indian posts which initiated fire, the ISPR statement added.
The intermittent fire continued till the filing of this report.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly (NA) offered prayers for the departed souls of three children who were martyred in unprovoked Indian firing along the WB in Sialkot Sector.
NA also offered prayers for the departed soul of Pakistani student Sabika Sheikh who was martyred in a recent firing incident in the United States.
Maulana Gohar Shah led the prayers.
On Friday, four civilians, including a woman and three children, were killed in unprovoked firing by Indian troops on a border village across the WB in Sialkot.
The ISPR had said that 10 people were also injured in the firing.
Following the incident, the acting foreign secretary had summoned the Indian high commissioner and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) and WB.
Indian forces have so far carried out more than 1,050 ceasefire violations along the LoC and WB this year, resulting in the martyrdom of 28 civilians, while injuring 117 others.
The heavily militarised LoC has frequently witnessed ceasefire violations, particularly after September 2016, in a serious breach of a truce signed by the two armies in November 2003.
Apart from heavy mortar shelling, Indian troops have resorted to the deliberate targeting of civilians with small arms while they conduct daily chores in vulnerable areas along the LoC in AJK.
“In 2017, 46 civilians were killed in similar attacks and another 262 wounded, while the number of the deceased and injured persons in 2016 was 41 and 142 respectively,” according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
