ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Sunday summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia after a minor girl was killed and four people were injured in Azad Kashmir in the unprovoked firing of Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC).
According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, the violation of the ceasefire agreement occurred in the Hotspring and Rakhchikri sectors where the Indian troops targetted civilian-populated neighbourhoods with heavy fire and mortars.
During the fire, the 11-year-old girl from village Dera Sahib Zadian lost her life, the statement said, adding that the injured included a 75-year-old woman.
Girl martyred, four injured in unprovoked Indian firing along LoC
According to an FO press release, the Indian forces have been “targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons” along the LoC and the Working Boundary. This year, the Indian side has committed 2,225 ceasefire violations, in which 18 people have died and at least 176 civilians have been injured, FO said.
The FO emphasised that such “senseless acts” were a violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding as well as “humanitarian norms and professional military conduct”.
The FO called upon the Indian side to investigate the recent, as well as previous, incidents of ceasefire violations. It also stressed that the Indian forces must maintain peace along the LoC and Working Boundary.
