A man was killed and at least four others, including a young boy, were wounded as Indian troops continued ceasefire violations from across the line of control (LoC) on Friday, a local official said.
The casualties occurred in Nakyal sector of Kotli district, where shelling began at about 5:30pm, said Kotli Assistant Commissioner Waleed Anwar.
“They used mortar and airburst shells, in addition to small arms,” he told Dawn.
The shelling stopped at about 9pm, but only after leaving Muhammad Farooq, 48, son of Ali Akbar, dead in Dharoti Narri village, he said.In the same village, Zeeshan, 18, Mohammad Sabir, 60, and Mohammad Naseer, 48, were injured, Anwar said, adding that a 12-years old boy Shams Aftab was injured in Datote village.
The senior official said the injured persons had been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli.
Defence attachés of six countries visit LoC
Earlier in the day, Islamabad-based defence attachés of six countries visited the restive dividing line in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to gather firsthand knowledge about the situation in the wake of incessant ceasefire violations reportedly committed by Indian troops, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The visit took place in Rawalakot sector of Poonch district, where Indian shelling has caused several civilian casualties in the recent weeks.
The ISPR said the attachés of United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Turkey and Indonesia were briefed about the Indian atrocities along the LoC including deliberate targeting of civilians.
The attachés also interacted with the victims of ceasefire violations, the ISPR said.
Although Indian and Pakistani troops had signed a historic truce agreement in November 2003, tensions along the heavily militarised have mounted since September 2016 when an Indian army base in Uri was attacked by suspected militants.
Ever since, ceasefire violations have become almost a daily occurrence, resulting in civilian casualties.
Of late the Indian troops have resorted to deliberate targeting of civilians while they are doing daily chores in AJK’s vulnerable areas along the LoC.
