Five soldiers, woman martyred in Afghan border, LoC attacks

ISLAMABAD: Five soldiers and a civilian woman embraced martyrdom in attacks on the Pak-Afghan border and the Line of Control, the ISPR said on Saturday.

Four soldiers embraced Shahadat while another was injured in two separate incidents on western border, the ISPR said. In North Waziristan, Sepoy Akhtar Hussain, 23, resident of Baltistan district, embraced Shahadat when miscreants opened fire on a patrolling party of the security forces near Abbakhel, Spinwam, late Friday night. In exchange of fire, two miscreants were also killed. In an another incident on Pak-Afghan border in Dir, three troops of the Pakistan Army busy in border fencing embraced martyrdom and another was injured when terrorists fired from across the border. The martyred soldiers include Lance Naik Said Amin Afridi, 28, resident of Khyber district, Lance Naik Muhammad Shoaib Swati, 31, from Mansehra, Sepoy Kashif Ali, 22, from Nowshera.

Meanwhile, Indian troops resorted to unprovoked fire in Hajipir Sector on the Line of Control (LoC). The ISPR said Havaldar Nasir Hussain, 33, resident of Narowal, embraced Shahadat in the firing.

According to the ISPR, six civilians, including four women, were wounded in Indian firing in Nakial and Jandrot sectors. One of the wounded women, identified as 40-year-old Fatima, succumbed to her injuries. The wounded were shifted to a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, Director General (SA and Saarc) Dr Muhammad Faisal summoned the Indian chargé d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the LoC.

“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and working boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons, which still continues. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations,” added the statement.

Dr Muhammad Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement; investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He urged that the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.