The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday said that an eleven-year-old girl was martyred and 4 civilians injured as a result of unprovoked firing by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) near the villages of Hotspring and Rakhchikri.
A statement released by the media wing of the military said that the injured included a 75-year-old woman and two boys. According to reports, the Indian troops used long-range artillery guns to deliberately target the civilian areas.
“Indian troops unprovoked #CFVs along #LOC targeting civil population with automatics & mortars in Hotspring and Rakhchikri Sectors. 11 years old innocent girl embraced shahadat, 4 civilians including a 75 yrs old woman & 2 young boys got injured. Pak Army responded effectively,” the ISPR said in a post on Twitter.Â
Indian troops unprovoked #CFVs along #LOC targeting civil population with automatics & mortars in Hotspring and Rakhchikri Sectors. 11 years old innocent girl embraced shahadat, 4 civilians including a 75 yrs old woman & 2 young boys got injured.
Pak Army responded effectively.— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) September 13, 2020
Read more: Firing along Line of Control: Indian barbarism injures six civilians including two girls
India has often resorted to unprovoked fire along the highly militarised frontier on the LoC. ISPR said that Pakistan Army had responded to the aggression by firing at Indian army posts, causing damages.
Strongly condemn the brutal killing of the 11-year old girl at the Line of Control. She had yet to start her life. Indian bullet snuffed her out. Cruel and cowardly. https://t.co/XfYfS6PBeC
— Masood Khan (@Masood__Khan) September 13, 2020
Pakistan’s foreign office said it had summoned India’s diplomatic representative to protest over the incident. In June, Pakistani officials blamed Indian troops for killing four villagers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Days later, they said Indian shelling killed a 13-year-old-girl and wounded her mother and brother.
Tensions have grown between Pakistan and India since August 2019, when the Hindu nationalist-led government led by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s decades-old semi-autonomous status, sparking anger around the world.
Read more: Civilians including 2 boys injured in Indian firing along LoC: DG ISPR
Since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, the two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
GVS News Desk with additional input by other sources