SIALKOT: United Nations observers visited on Saturday the villages along the Working Boundary which had been hit by Indian shelling over the past week.

They met the bereaved families of seven people killed in the unprovoked mortar shelling by India’s Border Security Force in Kundanpur village of Sucheetgarh sector on Friday.

The District Coordination Officer of Sialkot, Dr Asif Tufail, accompanied the UN team.

The observers told villagers that “we are observing the situation and collecting evidence”.

The UN officials later visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Sialkot and enquired after the health of the injured.

The villages visited by the UN observers were Kundanpur, Thathi Khurd, Thathi Meenderwal, Thathi Kalan, Harpal, Sucheetgarh, Bajra Garhi, Anula, Harpal and Charwah.

It was the fourth visit by UN observers to villages along the Working Boundary over the past two months.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Pakistan would give a befitting response to India if it did not cease hostilities along the Working Boundary.

He was talking to reporters during visits to the CMH and the villages which have borne the brunt of the Indian action.

The minister said Pakistan would now effectively respond to every Indian act of aggression and violation of ceasefire.

He said the Modi government had become so confused due to riots in Gujarat state that it was trying to divert the world’s attention away from its problems by resorting to unprovoked shelling on Pakistani villages.

He expressed solidarity with the affected villagers and praised their resilience and high spirit.

Mr Asif said the nation stood behind the armed forces to defend the motherland.

“We will counter this situation at all levels. If war is forced on us we will take good care of them (Indians),” he told AFP.

“We have the right to retaliate, and retaliate in kind, retaliate with full force,” he said. “If India crosses the international border and commits aggression again, we will defend our homeland and inflict much more damage than in 1965.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would raise the issue of continued Indian aggression at the UN General Assembly session next month, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play