The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday that two civilians were martyred while another got critically injured as the Indian Army opened indiscriminate fire at a group of shepherds.
“Today, at 11:55 hours, Indian Army, in a display of its usual inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, opened indiscriminate fire onto a group of shepherds in Sattwal Sector,” said the ISPR in a news release.
“In sequel to Indian Army unprovoked firing today while adopting an inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris at Sattwal Sector, one more civilian has embraced shahadat while one remains critically injured. (Total two martyred and one critically injured),” it added.
The victims were identified as Obaid Qayyum, 22, and Muhammad Qasim, 55, both residents of village Bara Dari Tetrinote in Tehsil Hajira, District Poonch. One more civilian remains critically injured as a result of the unprovoked firing.
“Driven by a newfound geo-political patronage, Indian forces have embarked on a plan to take innocent lives to satiate their false narratives and concocted allegations,” it said, adding “while a strong protest is being launched with the Indian side, Pakistan reserves the right to respond back in manner of its choosing to protect Kashmiri lives in the LoC.”
The ISPR “reminded” the Indian side to respect the basic human rights of Kashmiris, “particularly their inalienable right to their lands”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) summoned the Indian charge d’affaires to register a protest and condemn the incident. The FO underscored that such senseless acts violated the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and emphasized the need for the Indian side to respect human dignity, international human rights, and humanitarian laws.
The ceasefire violation drew severe condemnation from leaders in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), including Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and his predecessor Sardar Tanveer Ilyas.
Haq called upon the UN and the international community to take notice of Indian aggression, highlighting India’s acts of terrorism in occupied Kashmir and aggression along the LoC in AJK.
Ilyas pointed out that this was not the first time India had resorted to such horrendous acts, including targeting inadvertent crossers from AJK and labeling them as infiltrators to support false narratives. He urged Pakistan to counter such acts and propaganda with full force.
This incident follows a joint statement by the United States and India, which called on Pakistan to crack down on extremists targeting New Delhi. Pakistan’s FO had previously criticized the statement, calling it misleading and unwarranted and highlighting India’s own sponsorship of terrorism and repression of Kashmiri people.
