Since yesterday mortar shelling and heavy firing going on overnight in Hamirpur, Sujiyan, in Mandi sectors along LoC in Poonch.
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Kotwal said many civilians gathered at the site where the auto was hit, when they were hit by a second shell fired from Pakistan, injuring more than 20 of them.
Kashmir, the Himalayan territory which is ruled separately by India and Pakistan, has been divided between the two countries since the end of British colonial rule in the sub continent but is claimed in full by both.
The offensive on I-day came even as Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent his greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying promoting friendly ties between the two neighbours was in mutual interest.
On August 14, Pakistan troops had resorted to firing with automatic weapons and 82 mm mortar bombs on forward posts and civilian areas in Shahpur Kerni belt of Poonch district.
Indian soldiers retaliated after coming under fire from Pakistani rockets in the Poonch sector, 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of the region’s main city of Srinagar, said Indian defence ministry spokesman Manish Mehta. 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.
Due to continuous shelling, the injured are yet to be evacuated to a hospital, the reports said. He added that the Pakistani troops pounded Indian positions and civilians areas at 7.30 am and earlier, during the night.
Meanwhile, there was no exchange of candies between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers at the worldwide border here on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day.
There have been 26 violations of the 2003 ceasefire in August this year and the ongoing violations are in the fifth consecutive day.
“In the month of July and August there have been close to 70 ceasefire violations from the side of the LoC and Working Boundary”.
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In a televised speech on Friday, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain said his nation believes in “peaceful co-existence” with India, though it would not comprise if its defense and security came under threat.
