18-year-old martyred by Indian firing across LoC: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: An 18-year-old girl, a resident of Fatehpur, embraced martyrdom while six others were injured as Indian troops resorted to yet another unprovoked ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Indian troops targeted civil population along the LoC in the Hot Spring Sector.

The injured belonged to Fatehpur and Tahi villages, the military’s media wing said.

It added, “Pakistan Army troops responded effectively and targeted those posts which initiated fire.”

Indian troops have committed 1,877 ceasefire violations this year, so far in which 15 innocent civilians, including six women and five children, have been martyred. The unprovoked firing had injured 144 people including 46 women and 37 children, ISPR said.

Last month, a 20-year-old-boy was critically wounded in Baghsar sector from cross-border firing from Indian troops. Earlier, two women were left injured after Indian Army resorted to unprovoked firing in Rakhchikri and Baroh sectors along the LoC.

Foreign Office summons Indian envoy

Reacting to the unprovoked firing, Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri summoned Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia, to register Pakistan’s strong protest, a statement from the Foreign Office said.

According to the statement, "18-year-old Aneela d/o Abdul Kareem, resident of Village Fatehpur embraced shahadat and 22-year-old Abdul Naeem s/o Abdul Kareem, 18-year-old Saira d/o Abdul Kareem and 40-year-old Shamim Akhtar w/o Abdul Kareem, residents of Village Fatehpur; and 12-year-old Atteqa Shabbir d/o Muhammad Shabbir, 14-year-old Sana d/o Muhammad Shabbir and 28-year-old Zulfiqar Sharif s/o Muhammad Sharif, residents of Village Tahi, sustained serious injuries."

The FO, while condemning the "deplorable targeting of innocent civilians" by Indian occupation forces, underscored that "such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct".

"These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security," the statement added.

It stressed that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir region.

The statement said that the Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations; and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.

"The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions," it concluded by saying.