RAWALPINDI/MUZAFFARABAD, November 17: A woman and a man were martyred while at least five others, including a teenager, were injured on Friday when Indian troops resorted to “unprovoked” shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), officials said.
The casualties occurred in Poonch district’s Abasspur Town ? the same area where an elderly woman was killed in an incident of firing
by Indian troops two days earlier and in Nezapir sector of the neighbouring Haveli district.
Meanwhile according to ISPR, one person was martyred and three others injured in unprovoked firing by Indian troops in Neza Pir sector of Line of Control near district Haveli on Friday. The injured have been shifted to CMH Forward Kahuta.
“They (Indian troops) started shelling at about 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 police 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, Arsalan said.
He was transferred to Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan Hospital after receiving initial treatment in Abbaspur, he added. A parked vehicle was also partially damaged in Taroti bazaar, he said.
In Nezapir sector, Mohammad Hanif, 52, was killed and five others were wounded after “heavy” shelling began there around 8:50am, police official Ishfaq Ahmed told Dawn from Forward Kahuta – District Headquarters of Haveli.
The injured were identified as Shafqat Hussain, 35, Khadija Bibi, 44, Mohammad Ismail, 40 and a 15-year-old girl. All casualties occurred in Kairni village, official Ahmed said, adding the injured had been admitted to a military-run health facility in Forward Kahuta.
AJK Senior Minister Chaudhry Tariq Farooq vehemently 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 constantly targeting the innocent civilian populations on our side of the LoC, which warrants serious notice by the United Nations and the international community,” he said in a brief statement.-Agencies
