At least two civilians including a woman were killed and four others injured when Indian troops resorted to “unprovoked” firing across the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday, the military’s media wing said in a statement.
The casualties were caused when Indian forces targeted the civilian population in Chakothi sector of Jhelum Valley district along the de facto border.
“Pakistan army troops responded effectively [by] targeting [the] Indian post which initiated [the] fire,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
The dead were identified as Noushad Bibi, a resident of Soka village, and Ghulam Hussain, who lived in Bakot village.
Four people identified as Raja Mehmood (r/o Darang More), Zahida Bibi (r/o Bari Bhaik), Ghulam Muhammad and Muhammad Zakir (r/o Bakot village) sustained injuries in today’s firing.
The casualties come a day after guns again started roaring along the restive LoC after a three-day lull. On Sunday, Indian firing had left a civilian dead and four others injured in Pandu, Chakothi and Khilana sectors of Jhelum Valley district.
The heavily militarised LoC that splits the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between Pakistan and India had been very tense after Indian jets intruded into the Pakistani airspace on February 26 and jettisoned their payload in Balakot. A day later, the Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian jets in Bhimber district.
Since then, six civilians have been killed and around 40 others wounded in Indian shelling in different areas of AJK.
