SIALKOT - Ending a days-old agreement to honour a ceasefire, Indian forces on Sunday resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling on Sialkot border villages along the Working Boundary and killed a woman besides injuring 25 other people.

Four children and eight women were among the injured. The sectors which came under attack by Indian shelling were Phookaliyaan-Bajwat, Chaprar, Charwah, Harpal, Bajra Garhi and Sucheetgarh.

The locals were asleep in their homes when the Indian BSF resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling on their villages. The shelling created panic and harassment among the people.

An elderly woman Fazalaan Bibi (60) of Kachchi Maand village (Phookaliyaan-Bajwat Sector) was killed when a mortar shell fired by Indian BSF hit her house.

Twenty-five other people including four children and eight women namely Awais Ullah (8) in village Ghanglora-Bajwat, Safia Bibi (45), Muhammad Salman (16), Safia (1), Amanat Ali (40), Shabir Ahmed (55), Pervaiz Ahmed (30), Nishat Fatima (3) in village Kachchi Maand, Saleema Bibi (40), Irshad Bibi (63), Nargis Fatima (5), Begum Bibi (60), Khalid Mehmood (35), Muhammad Ashraf (45), Fareed Ahmed (39), Shamas Din (25), Musarrat Bibi (45), Shamim Akhtar (60), Noor Bibi (60) in village Pull Bajwaan-Bajwat, Naveed (23) in village Sohnti Dera-Phooklaiyaan and Muhammad Rafiq (60) of village Deeyawara, Bholey Shah (70) in village Pandoliyaan, Abdul Hameed (30) in village Deewan Pur, Muhammad Ikram (62) of village kachchi Maand and Ali Raza (21) of village Kakraan were injured seriously.

CEO of Sialkot District Health Authority Dr Latif Sahi said all the injured were shifted to Sialkot Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in critical condition by the rescuers after being given the early medical treatment at Rural Health Centre (RHC) Kahliyaan near Phookaliyaan-Bajwat.

Dozens of animals including buffaloes, cows and goats were also killed and injured. Several houses and cattle sheds were also badly damaged by the mortar shells fired by the Indian BSF, said the officials of the Sialkot district administration.

Dozens of the Indian mortar shells also landed in the local fields which could not explode, said the locals.

The shelling continued the whole day on Sunday intermittently.

According to senior officials of the Punjab Rangers, Pakistani forces retaliated effectively making the Indian guns silent.

Meanwhile, Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Dr Farrukh Naveed inquired after the health of injured admitted in Sialkot CMH.

Locals said Indian forces targeted the civilian population in Phookaliyaan, Pull Bajwaan, Pandoliyaan, Kaahilyaan, Diyaarwali, Kotli Dil Patiyaan, Saddarpura, Gangwaal, Kaliyaal, Kachhi Maand, Looni, Kheri, Tiba, Pul Bajwaan, Beli, Gaddiyaal, Gidhpur, Kakraan, Kukwaal, Papeen and Khanu Baaen (in Phookaliyaan-Bajwat Sector), Wainse, Daallowali, Kundanpur, Thathi, Meendarwal and surrounding villages (in Sucheetgarh Sector), Joiyaan, Anula, Harpal, Salaankey, Wahga, Khanor, Sangiyaal, Umeraanwali (in Harpal sector), Jhumat, Jarwal, Charwah, Merajkey, Akhnur, Dhamala, Haakimwala, Tulsipur, Lasso Chak, Bharthaal, Rangpur, Tandiyaal, Thakariyaal, Sangiyaal, Beeni Sulehriyaan, Khadraal, Sakroori, Behlaadpur, Sangiyaal, Haarnaawali and surrounding villages (in Charwah Sector), Chaprar, Punwal, Punwal Chak, Punwal Khurd, Nandpur, Rangpur Jattan, Salehpur, Malaaney, Thathi, Jhumiyaan and nearby villages( in Chaprar Sector), Joiyaan, Anula, Harpal, Salaankey, Wahga, Khanor, Sangiyaal, Umeraanwali(in Harpal sector), Wainse Ooncha, Wainse Neewaan, Kundanpur, Thathi, Meendarwal, Kajliyaal, Kaseerey, Ghug, Nandpur, Dhool, Malaaney, Khaaney Chak and surrounding villages (in Sucheetgarh Sector) along the Sialkot Working Boundary.

According to AFP, Indian officials claimed that Pakistani firing has killed two Indian border officers and injured several others.

The salvo of gun and mortar fire came just four days after Pakistan and India promised to end ceasefire violations in Kashmir.

The two sides had pledged to respect the conditions laid out in a 2003 ceasefire “in letter and spirit” following some of the highest levels of violence in Kashmir since the pact was signed.

Both sides blame each other for violating the 15-year ceasefire.

The renewed commitment to the ceasefire had encouraged thousands of civilians to return to their homes after weeks of shelling.

The flare-up along the border comes amid a rise in street riots and violence in Indian-occupied Kashmir, which witnesses near-daily demonstrations against Indian rule.