CHANDIGARH: The continuing cross-border shelling along the Indo-pak border over the last week appears to be resulting in casualties on the Pakistani side as well. The Pakistani media has said it has lost six civilians and two soldiers in the mortar shelling by the Border Security Forces on villages along what they called the ‘Working Boundary’.

In its report, Dawn said two people, a soldier of the Punjab Rangers and an elderly man, were “martyred on Tuesday as the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) stepped up mortar shelling on villages”.

Quoting Rescue-1122 officials, Dawn said Lance Naik Muhammad Shahid of the Punjab Rangers was killed in an attack on the Phagwal Post in Zafarwalshakargarh sector and Malik Muhammad Aslam, 70, was at home when mortar shells hit his house, killing him on the spot. It added that four people were also injured in the attack.

Residents of villages hit in the latest spate of attacks from across the border spent a sleepless Monday night, choosing to hide in the fields out of fear, the report claimed.

Dawn had on May 21 said that a soldier of the Punjab Rangers lost his life and three others were seriously injured due to shelling on the Punjab Rangers’ Badwaal Post in the Charwah Sector. It had quoted officials and added that dozens of cattle, belonging to residents of border villages in Charwah, Harpal and Bajra Garhi sectors were also killed in the shelling.

On May 18, four people, who included a woman and her three children, were killed while 10 were injured in ceasefire violations by India, an Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) press release had said.

Earlier, Pakistani media had claimed that a man was “gunned down in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on May 15 after Indian snipers resumed targeted attacks from across the restive LOC”.

Sumeda sumeda@htlive.com

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 4 May 2018