SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir administration sanctioned construction of additional 400 individual bunkers for Poonch and Rajouri which witnessed intense shelling from Pakistani troops over the past five days.“In view of the heightened cross-border shelling, the government has sanctioned additional 200 individual bunkers each for Poonch and Rajouri districts,” an official spokesman said.
Border residents in Poonch accused Pakistani troops of targeting civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC). The army said Pakistani troops are using Howitzers to target civilian population and troops on the LoC. “Pakistani troops are targeting civilian population with heavy shelling. We have not witnessed this kind of shelling from Pakistani troops during 1999 Kargil War,” Mohammad Hussain, a resident of Salootri, Jhallas in Poonch said on the phone.
Three members of a family, a woman and her two children, were killed when a shell fired by Pakistani troops landed on their home in Salootri village at LoC. Another resident of Salootri Ghulam Abbas said Pakistani troops are intentionally firing mortar and artillery on civilian areas to cause casualties.
“We have been left at the mercy of God. The government should either shift us to a safer place or construct bunkers for our security,” he said. A resident of Kamalkote Imtiyaz Ahmad said that Pakistani troops shelled Nanak post of army in Jabla, Kamalakote and some shells landed on civilian areas.