“We are concerned about the ceasefire violations in the months of July and August”, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit told reporters outside the foreign ministry office in Delhi where he had been hauled in.
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At least six civilians killed on the Indian side, while two others died in the Pakistani side as shelling continues.
Villagers look on as Pakistani shells from across the border land in Poonch.
32-year old Mustaq Ahmed was also injured in Sujiyan area and has been hospitalised, he said.
The firing on Indian positions in the Jammu region in which five people were also injured on the country’s Independence Day in ceasefire violations for the seventh consecutive day drew strong retaliation from Indian troops.
He conveyed his condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint and take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians.
Both sides used terms like “unprovoked firing” and “befitting reply” to describe the actions of the other, and detail their own response.
Pakistan Rangers effectively responded to the Indian firing.
Despite a 2003 ceasefire agreement, India and Pakistan have intermittently engaged in cross-border battles at the “Line of Control”, the de facto border separating the Kashmir and Jammu region between both countries. Poonch SSP J.S.Johar said two of the critically injured civilians were airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment but one of them, 10-year-old Moin Khan, succumbed late in the evening, raising the death toll to five.
School shut down Wednesday in the Pakistan’s Nakial sector over the shelling, said Javed Budhanvi, a minister in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir.
Another MI-17 helicopter flew to pick up three civilians injured in Pakistani shelling on the LoC in Rajouri district, the spokesman added.
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Calling for immediate de-escalation of tension along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti urged the political leadership of India and Pakistan to respect and uphold the ceasefire put in place during 2003.
