MUZAFFARABAD: Pakis­tan Army said on Wednesday that three Indian soldiers were killed and five others wounded when it returned fire across the Line of Control (LoC) after Indian shelling left two Pakistani civilians dead and six wounded.

“Pakistan army posts are effectively engaging Indian posts. Indian posts have suffered heavy damage. There are reports that three Indian soldiers were killed and five injured [in retaliatory fire by Pakistani troops],” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release.

Media reports from India-held Kashmir quoted police officials as saying three army soldiers were injured in firing by Pakistani troops.

Two siblings die in unprovoked shelling from across LoC

The ISPR said that Indian “unprovoked firing in the Rawalakot and Chirikot sectors in tehsil Abbaspur of district Poonch targeted civilian population in Kakuta, Chaffar, Serian and Narakot villages.

Abbaspur Assistant Commi­ssioner Qaisar Aurangzeb told Dawn that Indian troops resorted to heavy shelling at around 6am.

During the intense shelling, which continued until 9am, Indian troops used both small and heavy arms, targeting civilians without any provocation, he said.

A mortar shell landed on the house of Haji Sakhi Mohammad Kiyani in Chaffar village, killing his daughter Zakia, 22, and son Kashif, 20.

Nazira Begum, 60, Kausar, 35, Muhammad Azad, 17, and Sohail, 18, suffered injuries in their homes in Chaffar and Kakuta villages, he said.

Besides, Amjad Majeed, 30, and his brother Umar Majeed, 18, who were on a motorbike, were injured in Chaffar after being hit by shrapnel from a mortar shell, he added.

Official sources in Kotli district’s Nakyal sector said on Wednesday that many areas in their jurisdiction were also hit by Indian shelling.

AJK State Disaster Manage­ment Authority Director Saeed Qureshi said that the latest civilian casualties caused by Indian shelling in AJK had pushed the death toll from cross-border firing this year to 36 with more than 200 people injured.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2017