Woman injured as Pakistan shells forward areas along LoC

Srinagar: A 45-year-old woman was injured in overnight shelling and firing by Pakistani army along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Poonch and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

Saleema Bi, a resident of Lanjout village, was hit by splinters when a mortar shell exploded near her house in Balakote sector of Poonch district late Saturday night, the officials said. They said the woman was rescued by a joint team of the Army, police personnel and health workers amid intense shelling and was evacuated to a hospital, where her condition was stated to be stable.

Balakote along with Mendhar witnessed heavy firing and shelling from across the border for several hours Saturday night, forcing strong and befitting retaliation by the Indian Army, the officials said.

Several houses were damaged in the Pakistani shelling, they added. The officials said Hiranagar sector along the IB in Kathua district of the Jammu region was also rocked by heavy exchange of firing between the Pakistani Rangers and the Border Security Force (BSF) throughout the night.

Pakistan initiated the ceasefire violation by resorting to firing on three forward areas including Karol Matrai, Faqeera and Chandwa around 9 pm, drawing retaliation by the BSF guarding the IB, they said. The officials said Pakistani Rangers used mortars to target the posts and villages, causing panic among the border residents who were forced to take shelter in the underground bunkers.

Two cows were injured and were attended to by medical teams after the firing stopped around 4 am, they said. –