ISLAMABAD: India continued to violate international laws as well as the ceasefire agreement on Monday, as it once again resorted to unprovoked firing on different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC), which resulted in the martyrdom of four civilians – including a woman – and injuries to six others.
Casualties occurred in different villages of Nakyal Sector, which has been experiencing indiscriminate shelling for the past several days. According to a spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the media wing of the Pakistan Army – Indian yet again resorted to unprovoked firing on the LoC in the Kel, Nakyal and Jandrut sectors. Pakistani troops befittingly responded to the Indian aggressing and targeted their checkposts. Sources also said that Pakistani forces targeted the aggressors and managed
to destroy some of their checkposts.
Jandrut is located in Kotli district, while Kel lies in the upper belt of Neelum valley, northeast of Muzaffarabad. A government official from Nakyal told a private new channel that there had been intense shelling since 8am, with Indian troops using both small and heavy arms.
Nakyal Assistant commissioner Zeeshan Nisar also confirmed that three men and a woman had been killed, as Indian forces fired bullets and shells at civilian population. “Since the shelling is continuing, we are unable to collect all details. I am afraid there might be more casualties,” said Nisar. The latest episode of cross-border firing comes as tensions simmer between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue. The Indian prime minister stepped up a drive to isolate Pakistan diplomatically after the Uri army base attack last month.
Hours after the attack occurred, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed Pakistan a ‘terrorist state’. The Uri attack occurred days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to address the United Nations General Assembly regarding Indian human rights violations in Held Kashmir. After the attack, India claimed to have conducted a cross-border ‘surgical strike’ against ‘launch pads of terror’ in Azad Kashmir – a claim Pakistan has strongly rejected. Pakistan maintains that India is attempting to divert the world’s attention away from ‘atrocities’ committed by government forces in India-held Kashmir.
