The human cost of harm caused by Indian ceasefire violations became evident once again when 12-year-old Yasira Riasat lost her leg to shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) last year.
Injured by a shell fired by Indian border forces on October 1, 2017 in Azad Kashmir's Battal sector, Yasira was shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalkot in a critical condition. There, her left leg had to be amputated below the knee.
She was evacuated to the Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFIRM) Rawalpindi in November when Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Chirikot sector directed that the injured girl be shifted for an artificial limb implant.
After being reoperated on for debridement and preparation for artificial limb grafting at a treatment centre in Forward Kahuta, Yasira was provided round the clock intensive care that made her infection free.
On November 14, she was transferred to Military Hospital Rawalpindi and grafted with an artificial leg at AFIRM on December 27. The implant restored Yasira's normal gait and daily life activities, enabling her to return home on January 20 this year.
Yasira's parents have expressed gratitude to the Pakistan Army for their daughter's successful treatment and two-month-long rehabilitation, the ISPR said in a recent handout.
Ceasefire violations are a frequent feature along the LoC and Working Boundary despite the leadership of Pakistan Rangers and India's Border Security Forces agreeing in November 2017 that the "spirit" of the 2003 Ceasefire Agreement must be revived to protect innocent lives.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif had informed the Senate last month that Indian troops have committed over 170 ceasefire violations along the LoC and WB in January 2018 alone.
At least 11 civilians have died, whereas 51 others have been injured in the recent spurt of LoC violations, Asif said at the time, adding that there has been a surge in Indian ceasefire violations since international pressure began mounting against New Delhi for its violation of human rights in India-held Kashmir.
