MUZAFFARABAD: An elderly man was killed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as Indian troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations from across the restive Line of Control after midnight, officials said on Monday.

Kotli district disaster management officer Shariq Talat told Dawn that Khan Muhammad, 60, was killed in Dabsi village of Nakyal sector, where he had gone to attend a wedding ceremony.

“A bullet hit him in the neck, leaving him dead on the spot at about 1am,” he said. “All others at the wedding remained safe,” he added. The deceased belonged to Fandyot village of neighbouring Goi sector.

Mr Talat said that though the intermittent firing by Indian troops was largely with small arms and in parts of Nakyal and Goi sectors, yet occasionally they also lobbed mortar shells. How­ever, no more casualties were reported, he added.

Condemning the killing of an innocent civilian, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said it was “reprehensible”.

“In fact, it’s an act of targeted killing, something the trigger-happy Indian soldiers have gained notoriety for long. Ironically, the xenophobic BJP government is purposely escalating tensions for political mileage at home,” he tweeted.

The heavily militarised LoC has been tense for quite some time, particularly after a suicide attack on an Indian army convoy in Pulwama district on Feb 14.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019