ISLAMABAD - At least two civilians were martyred and eight others sustained injuries as a result of unprovoked firing by the Indian forces in Harpal and Chuprar sectors along the Working Boundary (WB) yesterday.
According to ISPR, befitting response was given by Pakistan Rangers to Indian shelling.
“Two civilians embraced shahadat (martyrdom) in Chaprar Sector on the Working Boundary due to India’s unprovoked firing today,” the military said in a statement.
It further said that another civilian Sikander from Sona valley who was injured at the Line of Control on Tuesday succumbed to his injuries at CMH Kharian.
At least six civilians have been killed and 21 injured as a result of Indian violations in less than a week.
On Monday, two civilians, including a minor girl, were killed while seven others had sustained injuries as a result of firing from the Indian side. The intermittent exchange of fire continued throughout the night.
Last week, a man was killed while five others — including three women — were injured when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC.
Pakistan yesterday urged India to respect ceasefire as it lodged another protest with the nuclear armed neighbour for violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.
For the second day running, India’s Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh was summoned by the Director General South Asia and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Dr Mohammed Faisal. Singh was handed over the protest letter, the foreign ministry said.
The protest letter said the Indian forces resorted to “unprovoked firing across Line of Control and Working Boundary on October 25 and October 26 and targeted innocent civilians on purpose.”
“The indiscriminate firing in Bhimber sector resulted in the martyrdom of one civilian as nine locals were also injured during the ceasefire violations,” it said.
Pakistan also demanded that India should carry out investigation over the matter and “let us know about outcomes in this regard.”
The foreign ministry said India should instruct its troops to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit, refrain from intentionally targeting the villages and maintain peace on the Working Boundary and the LoC.
Tension between Pakistan and India has been high since the killing of Kashmiri youth Burhan Wani in July. The Uri attack in September - that killed 19 Indian soldiers - intensified the tension and resulted in skirmishes along the LoC and WB.
On September 29, India claimed it had conducted ‘surgical strikes’ against alleged militant launch pads across the LoC. Pakistan rejected the claim stating that Indian troops had not crossed the LoC but had only skirmished with Pakistani troops, resulting in the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers and injuries to nine.
The Pakistani military said it killed up to 8 Indian soldiers in exchange, and captured one. India confirmed that one of its soldiers was in Pakistani custody, but denied that it was linked to the incident or that any of its soldiers had been killed. Pakistan said India was hiding its casualties.
On September 21, India summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and “gave a protest letter detailing the involvement of a terrorist group based in Pakistan.” Pakistan later said that India had provided no evidence that the Uri attack was launched from Pakistan.
Defence Minister Khawja Mohammed Asif suggested India had carried out the Uri attack to deflect attention from the popular protests in Jammu and Kashmir. Border skirmishes continued throughout the month of October. The Indian military blamed the banned ‘Jaish-e-Mohammad’ outfit and also pointed fingers at Pakistan. Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested independent investigation.
Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003 that had silenced the guns. However, exchanges of fire do take place time to time across the border and shelling has increased in recent days.
Earlier, the United States reiterated its support to Pakistan in its efforts to end the scourge of terrorism and promote peace and stability in the region.
US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said terrorism was a common threat to everybody and it required common and comprehensive collaborative solutions.