‘Indian troops using snipers to target civilians at LOC’

MUZAFFARABAD-/RAWALPINDI: Indian troops have been using sniper shorts to target innocent civilians on Line of Control (LOC) which left many stories in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), reveals a book written by a senior journalist Zulfiqar Badho.

The book ‘India’s sniper war’ along the UN-monitored ceasefire line in Azad Kashmir contains heart-wrenching stories of ordinary civilians trying to live their lives in peace and being deliberately targeted by Indian snipers. It is a collection of stories of ten victims who were killed or wounded by the Indian snipers.

"The purpose is to bring out the callousness of the policy under which innocent and non-combatants are targeted, and where the victims include children, women and the elderly. The practice amounts to a war crime and also committing crimes against humanity. This is because the sniper has the victim in his sight and can see his victim, most of whom are farmers working on their fields, children playing or going to school or women doing their chores," said author Zulfiqar Badho, migrated from IOK during 1990s.

Targeting children in situations of armed conflict and direct attacks on places that generally have a significant presence of children, such as schools and hospitals, are clearly a violation of the international law and Geneva conventions, Badho added.

The book also contains stories of survivors who are left to carry life-long injuries causing endless pain and financial burden of years of health care. It tells the stories of how they face life with grace, courage and resilience.

While the areas close to the ceasefire line have long been the scene of artillery duels and other heavy weapons battles, sniper fire which nearly exclusively targets the civilians has largely gone unreported and the world doesn’t know much about it.

In recent months, there has been a surge in such attacks by the Indian troops. At least 11 people were killed or wounded in sniper attacks during 2018 alone, with four of them being hit during the third week of February. Those killed included two school going children, a girl and a boy, three women, a labourer and a driver. Those injured included two farmers, a school-going girl and a housewife.

The author of the book Zulfiqar Ali is familiar with the area. He has frequently and extensively travelled along this border region during 1994-2013 to cover the conflict for the BBC.

To collect material for this book, the author spent a total of four weeks in the region at different times from February to December 2018. He undertook field visits to the affected villages and held in-depth interviews with victims, families of victims and eyewitnesses.

On two occasions during his work he was witness to Indian sniper fire targeting the area where he was located. One of these incidents occurred when he was interviewing the family of Sarfaraz Imtiaz in Battal village. The family was hit four days earlier.

In the second instance, the Indian troops apparently fired two warning shots while he was filming the abandoned house of the 9-year-old Ayyan Zahid in Chhtar. Ayyaz, and another person, Inzamam Amin, had just been killed in sniper firing while the author and his team were working in the area.

The book is intended to draw international attention to the sufferings of these almost forgotten victims of a conflict that has perpetuated for over 70 years.

The idea is to press the need by UN and international community to make all efforts necessary to safeguard the fundamental right to life of the families that live along this line of death and destruction.

SABAH adds: Turkish journalists delegation visited Muzaffarabad and Chakhoti on Wednesday.

According to ISPR the delegation was briefed about Indian ceasefire violations targeting civil population along Line of Control. The delegation also met with the victims of recent Indian cease fire violations.

Later, delegation visited Central Press Club Muzaffarabad and interacted with local journalists.