Two martyred in unprovoked Indian shelling across LoC

RAWALPINDI/MUZAFFARABAD: A woman and a man were martyred while five others including a teenager injured Friday when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked shelling across LoC in AJK, officials said. The casualties occurred in Poonch district’s Abasspur Town the same area where an elderly woman was martyred in an incident of firing by Indian troops two days earlier and in Nezapir Sector of the neighbouring Haveli district. Meanwhile, according to the ISPR, one person was martyred and three others injured in unprovoked firing by Indian troops in Nezapir Sector of LoC near district Haveli. The injured have been shifted to the CMH Forward Kahuta. They (Indian troops) started shelling at around 7am without any provocation. Shelling continued intermittently after Qazi Arsalan an official at Abasspur Police Station told a private TV channel. In Poonch district, Rashida Begum a 55-year-old widow of a 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 added. He was transferred to Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan Hospital after receiving initial treatment in Abbaspur. A parked vehicle was also partially damaged in Taroti bazaar, In Nezapir Sector, Muhammad Hanif, 52, was martyred and five others injured after heavy shelling began there at around 8.50am, police official Ishfaq Ahmed told an English daily from Forward Kahuta district headquarters of Haveli. The injured were identified as Shafqat Hussain, 35, Khadija Bibi, 44, Muhammad Ismail, 40, and a 15-year-old girl. All casualties occurred in Kairni village. The injured had been admitted to a military-run health facility in Forward Kahuta.
AJK Senior Minister Ch Tariq Farooq condemned Indian shelling regretting that the Indian army’s conduct reflected its blatant disregard to its commitments.
Despite agreeing to revive the spirit of the 2003 Ceasefire Agreement, Indian troops are targeting the innocent civilian population on our side of the LoC which warrants serious notice by the United Nations and the international community, he said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Friday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces in Chirikot and Nezapir sectors, in which two civilians were martyred and five others injured.
Director General (SA & Saarc), Dr Mohammad Faisal, urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace at the LoC and the Working Boundary. He urged the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions. Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations.