MUZAFFARABAD, May 27: Heavy shelling by Indian forces continued on several villages of Azad Kashmir on Sunday and Monday killing two civilians and injuring at least nine others.

About 25 mortar and artillery shells landed in the town of Abbaspur, a town of around 15,000 residents some five kms from the Line of Control.

The town came under direct fire for the first time after the 1971 war, an AJK official said.

The unprovoked Indian shelling on Bhimbher district, about 25kms from the LOC, began early on Sunday causing injuries to a man and a woman in Dab village of Samahni sector. Two other villagers sustained injuries in Thub and Nali villages.

Hajira and Abbaspur of Poonch district came under fire at about 7:20pm, officials said adding that splinters of a shell, that landed near a government rest house in the heart of Abbaspur town, pierced the body of Mohammed Aslam killing him instantly. Another man, Mushtaq Sakhi Mohammed, sustained fatal injuries in Bokra Mandhol village near Hajira sector.

Shelling on the nearby Jhawara village of the same sector injured one person. The town of Sehra received more than 25 shells but reports of casualties or damage were yet to come from the town.

The main bazaar and a nursery in Neelam Valley also came under India shelling without causing any casualty on Sunday.

Heavy shelling resumed on Monday in which four people were injured in Samahni sector. They were identified as Abdul Haq, Noreen, Ms Nasim Akhtar and Ms Tazeem Akhtar.

When contacted, an official told this correspondent, that the Indian shelling caused partial damage to a bridge on River Jhelum near Tatta Pani (Kotli). However, the bridge linking Kotli and Poonch was intact, he added.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.