2-year-old killed, 4 injured in Indian fire of heavy weapons and mortars across LoC: ISPR

Published April 13, 2020
Injured have been evacuated to nearby hospitals. — AFP/File
Injured have been evacuated to nearby hospitals. — AFP/File

A two-year-old was kiled while four people were injured in indiscriminate firing in the last 24 hours by the Indian army in various districts near the Line of Control (LoC), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.

"Indian Army troops in total disregard to ceasefire agreement and international conventions initiated unprovoked ceasefire violations along LoC, deliberately targeting civilian population in Baroh, Dhudnial, Rakhchikri and Chirikot Sectors," DG ISPR said on Twitter.

According to the ISPR, Pakistan Army responded and "targeted those Indian posts which had initiated fire".

The two-year-old who passed away belonged to Dhunial sector, while four people, including a woman and a 72-year-old senior citizen, from Baroh, Rakhchikri and Chirikot sectors sustained serious injuries.

ISPR said that the injured have been evacuated to nearby medical facilities for treatment.

This is the third consecutive day that India has violated the LoC agreement. The two-year-old's demise comes a day after a four-year-old boy lost his life in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Indian shelling from across LoC.

Taking to Twitter, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider wrote: “Unprovoked, indiscriminate and unrelenting ceasefire violations by Indian Army were not only causing civilian casualties and damages but also disturbing our efforts to contain Covid-19 in areas along the restive ceasefire line [LoC].”

“Will the [UN Secretary General] Antonio Guterres take serious note of this beastliness,” he questioned.

Indian envoy summoned over ceasefire violations

Meanwhile, Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned by Director General (South Asia & Saarc) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by Indian troops.

"The Indian occupation forces along LoC and the Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons. This year, India has so far committed 749 ceasefire violations to date," a statement from the Foreign Office read.

Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, the director general underscored that such senseless acts — in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and complete disregard for international human rights and international norms — further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security, it read.

"He maintained that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the worsening human rights situation occupied Kashmir," the release said.

The DG called upon the Indian envoy to respect the ceasefire understanding, and investigate such incidents of "deliberate violations" in order to maintain peace along the LoC and the WB, it said.

He added that India should permit the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions, it concluded.

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