ISLAMABAD: Two people were injured in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Monday after Indian soldiers targeted a van near the Line of Control (LoC). “A Suzuki van was coming to Hajira from Goi (Kotli) when it was targeted by Indian troops near Madarpur at about 2pm. As a result, two passengers on board the vehicle were injured,” local police said.
One of the injured, who had received a bullet wound to his chest, was taken to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli. Earlier in the day, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had visited the LoC. He was informed about the recent ceasefire violations by Indian troops and the response from the Pakistani side.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief was told that the only restraint faced by the Pakistani troops was the professional ethos of Pakistan Army that barred them from responding in kind when Indian troops targeted innocent civilians along (the) LoC. The LoC has been witnessing regular cross-border attacks which have left scores of civilian dead or wounded in AJK. Earlier in November last year, a total of 12 passengers were killed when a public transport vehicle was targeted by Indian troops with mortars in Neelum valley. Three weeks after that incident, a school van was hit in the Nakyal Sector of Kotli district, leaving its driver dead and eight students wounded. Last month, four soldiers embraced martyrdom after their truck was hit by Indian troops in Neelum valley.
According to the AJK Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 39 civilians were killed and another 132 injured in Indian shelling in AJK in 2016.
Published in Daily Times, August 15th 2017.
.jpg)
