Six civilians and a soldier of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom while two soldiers and at least nine civilians were wounded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after Indian troops resorted to “indiscriminate and ruthless” shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) past midnight “without any provocation”, civil and military officials said on Sunday.
The civilian and military officials said the Nauseri sector, in Muzaffarabad district, and its adjoining Jura and Shahkot sectors, in Neelum valley, were attacked by Indian troops without pause from midnight onwards, using field artillery, mortars and tracer munition to brazenly target civilians. Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces. He prayed for eternal peace of those martyred and early recovery of the injured, a PM Office statement said.
Mr Khan also saluted the valour of the Pakistan Army for giving a befitting response to the Indian forces. Six civilians and a soldier embrace martyrdom; PM condemns unprovoked firing.three persons lost their lives and two were injured after a shell hit their house in Nauseri sector’s Nosadda village. He identified the deceased as Haji Azam, 60, his son Mohammad Rafaqat, 28, and Haji Sarfraz, 47, son of Ghulam Rabbani.
Elsewhere in the Nauseri sector, two labourers — Liaquat Ali, 35, from Mardan and Yasir, 30, from Attock — were killed when a shell hit a link road where they were working, he said. In Kanoor village of Nauseri sector, two women and a man were injured, he added. In Neelum valley, a shopkeeper, Zafar Khan, 45, was killed, said Akhtar Ayub, a disaster management officer based in district headquarters Athmuqam. He added that four women were injured in Jura village. According to him, Indian shelling destroyed 39 houses and 28 shops and partially damaged 93 houses and 60 shops. Besides, 16 vehicles, including four motorcycles, were also damaged, he said.
Indian claims rejected : Pakistan rejected India’s claim that they had “smashed four terror launch pads” in Neelum valley in the artillery fire by the Indian Army as a “pack of lies”. In a statement, Foreign Office rejected Indian media reports about targeting “launch-pads” along the LoC. Calling upon P5 countries “to ask India to provide information about the alleged launch-pads”, the FO expressed willingness to arrange a visit of the P5 diplomats to those locations to expose Indian falsehood.
Heinous targeting of civilians is a typical attempt by India to divert international attention from the humanitarian nightmare in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” the FO added.Meanwhile, in Islamabad India’s Charge d’ Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to the Foreign Office by Director General (SA&SAARC) Dr Mohammad Faisal, who condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces” along the LoC in Jura, Shahkot and Nauseri sectors.
Civilian populated areas along the LoC and Working Boundary have been constantly targeted by the Indian forces with artillery fire, heavy calibre mortars, and automatic weapons. This escalation in ceasefire violations by India had been going on since 2017 when the Indian forces had committed more than 1,970 ceasefire violations, said the FO statement. “The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws,”
