MUZAFFARABAD/Lahore - Pakistan summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner on Monday and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC).
The summoning of Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia by the foreign ministry came after a woman was martyred and at least seven others injured in a fresh wave of cross-border firing on Sunday night.
The Indian diplomat was also summoned on July 24 over incidents of shelling along the LoC, making it the second summon this week.
Rehmat Jan, a 45-year-old woman who lived in Mandhar village of Nezapir sector, died after being hit by the splinters of a mortar shell, Muhammad Zaheer, a disaster management officer in Haveli said on Monday. Another resident of the village, Begum Jan (48) was injured due to Indian shelling, he said.
Three civilians — Zainab Jan (60), Muhammad Naeem Dar (24) and Ulfat Rashid (17) — were injured in Kairni village while Munir Hussain (20), Kausar Parveen (26) and Nosheen (18) were wounded in Kachar Ban, the official said.
“They used both small and big arms and targeted civilian populations, restricting people indoors till late night,” Zaheer said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Muhammad Faisal in a statement said “the deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws”.
He further called the Indian ceasefire violations “a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation”.
Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, while also asking them to investigate the incidents of ceasefire violations.
He also urged the Indian side to “instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary”.
The spokesperson urged that the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
The casualties occurred in Khurshidabad and Nezapir sectors of Haveli district — which lies near the LoC — occurred on Sunday night but the authorities shared the information with media on Monday.
Haveli Deputy Commissioner Raja Arshad Mahmood said that since the affected villages are located near the LoC, details of the firing reached authorities late on Sunday night.
“After verification of each incident, the same has been communicated to the concerned offices in Muzaffarabad today (Monday),” he said.
According to Zaheer, Indian forces began shelling and firing in the Nezapir sector at about 3:45pm and in Khurshidabad sector at around 6pm on Sunday “without any provocation”.
Saeed Qureshi, a senior director at State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), said that after the latest ceasefire violation, the civilian death toll in the current year has increased to 22, including 13 men and nine women.
Of them, he said, nine have been killed in the Kotli district, six in Haveli district, three in Bhimber district, two in Jhelum Valley district and one each in Neelum Valley and Poonch districts.
About 11 army personnel have also been martyred along the LoC in the ongoing year, Qureshi added.
Around 114 people, including 65 men and 49 women, have been injured, he said. About 36 of the victims hailed from Kotli district, 27 from Poonch district, 24 from Haveli district, 19 from Bhimber district, seven from Jhelum Valley district and one from Neelum Valley district.
Qureshi said that around 18 houses and four shops have been destroyed and 220 houses, one mosque, two schools and five vehicles have been partially damaged.
Villagers have also lost at least 26 cattle heads due to shelling by the Indian forces in the ongoing year, he added.