4 AJK civilians dead, 11 wounded in 'indiscriminate' Indian shelling across LoC

Published February 27, 2019
An Indian army soldier takes up position near the Line of Control. — AFP/File
An Indian army soldier takes up position near the Line of Control. — AFP/File

Hours after their violation of the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, Indian troops on Tuesday evening resorted to indiscriminate shelling from across the dividing line, leaving at least four civilians dead and 11 others wounded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), officials said.

The machinegun, mortar and artillery shelling began at about 5:30pm simultaneously in Kotli, Bhimber and Poonch districts and was "intense and indiscriminate", with civilians being ruthlessly targeted by Indian forces without any provocation, officials added.

The Kotli district was the worst hit area as all four of its sectors sharing the LoC came under heavy attack, according to deputy commissioner Dr Umer Azam.

Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense since a suicide bombing in Indian-occupied Kashmir killed over 40 Indian soldiers, with New Delhi blaming Pakistan of being complicit in the attack — a charge Islamabad has denied vehemently and from the get-go.

The tensions soared even more today after the Indian LoC violation — a transgression for which Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has warned New Delhi to "wait for our response".

According to Dr Azam, one of the shells fell on a house in Mohra Dharoti village of Nakyal sector and as a result, a woman and her two children were killed and another three children wounded.

He identified the deceased as Motiyan Begum, 55, Zarina, 20, and Gulfraz, 8, and the injured family members as Umar Farooq, 18, Sarfraz, 13, and Sagheer, 7.

Elsewhere in the same sector, 15-year-old Umer Mushtaq, Abdul Rahman, 40, Shamim Akhtar, 41 were injured in Saloor Tarkundi village and Khaqan, 40, in Balakot village, the deputy commissioner added.

In Khuiratta sector of the same district, Shehnaz Begum, 40, lost her life, while Adnan Aslam and his sister Sumera Aslam, and Munir Begum were injured in Khanpur Seri village.

Shelling was also taking place in Tattapani and parts of Charhoi sectors, but no casualties were immediately reported from there, Azam said.

"Since shelling is continuing intermittently, the casualties may go up … Once the guns fall silent we will be able to ascertain the exact details of losses," he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Killing fields
Updated 09 Jul, 2025

Killing fields

Israeli state seeks to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories of their Palestinian inhabitants, and forever obstruct the chances of a viable Palestinian state.
Crypto rush
09 Jul, 2025

Crypto rush

STEP by step, Pakistan is, at least on paper, moving closer to recognising, adopting and regulating cryptocurrencies...
Another plan
09 Jul, 2025

Another plan

FAILING to plan is planning to fail, as the old saying goes. This seems to have occurred in the case of Karachi, a...
Green tokenism
Updated 08 Jul, 2025

Green tokenism

Climate decisions must be based on facts, not politics — guided by independent science and open to public scrutiny.
Cotton decline
08 Jul, 2025

Cotton decline

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is in a crisis. Production has fallen from a peak of 14m bales 10 years ago to 5.5m ...
Pet problems
08 Jul, 2025

Pet problems

PAKISTANIS’ obsession with exotic pets keeps ending in tragedy. Incidents like the recent lion attack in a Lahore...