Pakistan lodges protest with India against killing of boy in cross-border firing in AJK
The Foreign Office (FO) summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh on Tuesday to register Pakistan's protest over the killing of an eight-year-old boy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by Indian forces a day earlier.
Ayan Zahid was killed by Indian firing on Monday in AJK's Janjot Bahadar village in Kotli district.
The boy was in the courtyard of his house when a bullet fired from across the Line of Control (LoC) hit him in the head, an eyewitness earlier told Dawn.
Pakistani forces, in retaliation to the incident, destroyed an Indian army post across the LoC and killed two soldiers. There was no immediate comment on the incident from New Delhi.
The latest instance of cross-border firing comes days after Pakistani troops destroyed another Indian army post "targeting innocent citizens" in Tatta Pani (Hot Spring) sector of Kotli district. Five Indian soldiers were killed and "many" injured, according to the army's media wing.
That development came hours after Indian troops hit a school van in a highly vulnerable border village in AJK, killing its driver on the spot.
The heavily militarised dividing line is witnessing constant cross-border shelling in a serious breach of a truce agreement signed in November 2003 by the two armies.
According to the FO press release, Indian forces have violated the cease-fire agreement along the LoC and the Working Boundary more than 335 times this year, resulting in the killing of 15 civilians and wounding of 65.
Comments (2) Closed
In my view, this protest like many previous protests will be ignored, because of our very weak foreign policy and Nawaz Sharif's reluctance to talk about Kashmir. Nothing will happen as long as PML-N government remains in power for personal interests!
Indians will not stop unless we respond with full force and eliminate posts which target us. The protection of citizens is any state's number one responsibility. Pakistani government must step up!!