20-year-old AJK student killed in 'unprovoked' firing by Indian troops across LoC
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A young student lost his life in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday after Indian troops resorted to 'unprovoked' ceasefire violation from across the Line of Control (LoC), civil and military officials said.
Umar Subhani, a 20-year-old BSc student, was said to be making preparations for iftar in the courtyard of his house in Danna Baroh village when Indian troops targeted him with small arms fire, said Mubashar Mushtaq, a disaster management officer in Bhimber district.
Danna Baroh village is located in close proximity to the restive LoC in Samahni subdivision of Bhimber district.
"It was yet another incident of targeted firing, something Indian troops have been frequently resorting to from across the dividing line," Mushtaq said.
The victim was shifted to Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital Samahni, located some 18 kilometres away from Danna Baroh, where doctors after providing preliminary treatment advised his family to rush him to Lahore in view of his serious condition, Mushtaq told Dawn.
However, after hardly half-an-hour's drive towards Lahore, the victim succumbed to his wounds, he added.
A senior military officer also confirmed Subhani's death in unprovoked firing by Indian troops.
In a brief statement, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider condemned the latest ceasefire violation by Indian troops.
"India has turned Kashmir into a killing field. Sadly the international community is not realising the gravity of the situation the way it should," he said
Although the heavily militarised LoC has been witnessing frequent ceasefire violations for a long time now, tensions skyrocketed after an attack on an Indian army convoy in the Pulwama district of Indian-occupied Kashmir in February.
On May 5, a woman and a boy were killed and another woman was injured in heavy Indian shelling in Poonch and Kotli districts.
Wednesday's casualty has pushed the death toll from ceasefire violations by Indian troops in the current year to 17, including six females, while the number of injured civilians has gone up to 82, including 33 females.
