Woman wounded in unprovoked Indian firing across LoC

Ag Agencies

RAWALPINDI: Indian army troops initiated unprovoked firing in the Hajipir and Sankh sectors along the Line of Control (LoC), deliberately targeting the civilian population and leaving a woman seriously injured, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.

According to the ISPR, the ceasefire violation occurred late Friday night. “Due to indiscriminate firing of automatics, rockets, heavy mortars and artillery, an innocent woman in Khwaja Bandi village, sustained serious injuries,” said ISPR. The injured was evacuated to a nearby health facility and being provided with medical care.

The Foreign Office subsequently summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations. In a press release issued on Saturday, the Foreign Office identified the wounded woman as 30-year-old Nasreen Akhtar. “Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was 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,” it said.

It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary, India could not divert attention from the grave human rights situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. 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. The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the WB have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons. In 2020, India has so far committed 940 ceasefire violations.