Unprovoked firing: Deaths mount as BSF shells Pak villages
By
Our Correspondent
Published: October 10, 2014
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Villagers sit on the debris of their house after it was damaged during the recent exchange of fire between Pakistan and India at the Pakistani border town of Dhamala Hakimwala near Sialkot October 8, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE:
The death toll from Indian Border Security Force (BSF)’s unprovoked firing and shelling at Pakistani villages has risen to 12 as two more civilians, including a woman, were killed on Thursday morning.
The recent casualties were reported from Sialkot’s Charwa sector’s Rar village, situated near Harpal.
In violation of the ceasefire agreement, India’s BSF has continuously been using light-to-heavy cannons to target Pakistani territories in Charwa, Harpal, Bajwat, Charpar, Shakargarh and other sectors along the working boundary mostly situated in the jurisdiction of district Sialkot of Pakistan’s Punjab.
According to Rangers officials, the number of injured rose to 50 on Thursday as the BSF resorted to unprovoked shelling and fired more than 150 mortars in Charwa Sector.
Due to India’s recent aggression, two Pakistanis, including Muhammad Azam — a resident of Rar village which falls in the jurisdiction of Charwa sector — was killed while a woman and three other Pakistani civilians sustained wounds.
On the other hand, as many as 12 Pakistanis were injured when the Indian forces started firing at villages of Sargala, situated near Narowal. More villages including Nangal Takhar Pur, Karol and Dera Kangra have also been affected by the shelling.
Sources said till date at least 70,000 Pakistanis — mostly residents of 13 villages situated on or near the working boundary — have been affected, while about 20,000 people have been forced to temporarily migrate to escape firing.
As many as 120 educational institutions situated near the border areas remained closed on Thursday due to continuous Indian shelling.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.