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The Pakistani army said at least one civilian was killed and five others injured in Indian forces' firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region, according to local reports early Sunday.
Four children are among the injured, a statement from the army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations said late Saturday. The injured were evacuated to a local hospital in the region.
The army said earlier that Indian forces "resorted to unprovoked firing and targeted civilian population" in Satwal and Nikial Sectors along the LoC, leaving two Pakistani civilians injured.
"Pakistan Army aggressively and effectively responded to hostile fire, silenced their guns and caused considerable damage to the posts carrying out fire," the statement said.
"Targeting civilians will not deter Kashmiri people from their just struggle against Indian oppression," the army said.
Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC and the Working Boundary in 2003. Both, however, routinely accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
There has been escalation along the LoC and Working Boundary since the militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers on Sept. 18 last year.
The Indian military had blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack and also pointed fingers at Pakistan. However, Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested an independent investigation.
In 2017 to date, the Indian forces have carried out more than 900 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary, resulting in the killing of 45 civilians and injuries to 155, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
