SRINAGAR: A woman was killed and two persons, including an off-duty soldier, injured in Pakistani troops’ firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Defence spokesman in Jammu, Lt Colonel Devender Anand, said the Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire and resorted to firing and mortar shelling on army positions and civilian areas along LoC in Balakote, Mankote, Naushera, Mendhar, Sunderbani, Khari Karmara and Degwar sectors in Poonch and Rajouri districts.
“The Pakistani troops also targeted army posts in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch from around 1 pm,” he said, adding that the Indian army effectively returned the fire and targeted the Pakistani posts.
Some of the mortar shells fired by the Pakistani troops landed in civilian areas in Chajjla area of Mendhar in Poonch. A woman, Amina Akhtar, sustained critical splinter injuries after the mortar shell exploded in the compound of her house in Chajjla. She was evacuated to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
An off-duty soldier Lance Naik Zakir Hussain also sustained injuries after his house was hit by mortar shells in Mankote area of Mendhar. Hussain is posted in JAKLI unit in Kupwara. Another woman was injured in mortar shelling in Nar, Mankote.
An army official said for the past few days, Pakistani troops had been resorting to firing and mortar shelling in the evening. “Today they changed their tactics and breached the border ceasefire in the day to cause damage on our side. However, our men were alert gave a befitting response,” he said.
In view of the tension along the LoC, the administration has ordered closure of educational institutions located within five km of the LoC and the IB in Rajouri and Poonch.