Five killed in Pak shelling

Amir Karim Tantray & Shyam Sood

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Rajouri, March 18

Five members of a family were killed as the Pakistan army shelled civilian areas in Balakote sector of Poonch district on Sunday morning.

Two girls — Nasreen Kouser (11) and her younger sister Mahreen Kouser (5) —were seriously injured in the incident. They were shifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, after being airlifted by the Air Force from Rajouri.

Those killed were identified as Muhammad Ramzan (35), his wife Malika Bi (32) and sons Abdul Rehman (14), Muhammad Rizwan (12) and Razzaq Ramzan (7) — all resident of Devta Sargloon village. The family was having breakfast in the verandah of their house when a shell landed there.

The incident occurred around 8 am. Five of them were killed on the spot while two injured girls were shifted to Rajouri district hospital, from where they were airlifted to Jammu at noon.

Five soldiers have also been injured in Pakistani shelling in Balakote sector. They have been identified as sepoy G Vishnak, Subedar Deshbandhu, Rifleman B Rai, Naik Jatinder Verma and Sepoy Rahul Pandey. 

Jammu-based PRO (Defence) Lt Col Devender Anand said the Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked firing from 7.45 am to 11.30 am along the Line of Control (LoC) using small arms, 81mm and 120mm mortars.

“Pakistan continues in its cowardly design of targeting civilians, their homes and livestock in villages close to the LoC. The deliberate provocation has resulted in loss of five civilian lives,” the PRO said. The Army retaliated strongly, effectively and proportionately to the dastardly act, he added. 

Earlier in the day, DGP Shesh Paul Vaid wrote on his Twitter page: “Due to shelling from across (LoC) in Balakote sector of Poonch, five members of a family died and two are injured who are being shifted to hospital.”

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish over the loss of lives and stressed the need for peace “if we want to save people of the state”.

The Pakistan army has violated the ceasefire agreement 777 times along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir till March 4 this year. The 63-day tally is half the figure for 2017, when it violated the agreement 1,411 times.

Since January 1, 10 Indian soldiers have been killed along the LoC whereas a BSF jawan also fell to the enemy bullet in Tangdhar sector on February 20.