RAWALPINDI: A 22-year-old girl was killed while two others sustained critical injuries after Indian forces resorted to firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) without any provocation, according to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Tosheeba Iqbal died on the spot and her 18-year old sister Aneeqa Iqbal was critically injured after being hit by shrapnel from a mortar shell in Balakot village of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
In a separate incident, Muhammad Liaqat, 16, was wounded in unprovoked cross-border firing by Indian troops.
Earlier on Sept 21, at least six people were killed and over two dozen wounded in firing by Indian troops.
The causalities took place near the Working Boundary dividing India-held Kashmir from Punjab.
“Indian brutality on World Peace Day martyred 6 innocent Pakistanis, injured 26 along working boundary in Chappar/Harpal/Charwa Sector,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, had said on Twitter on Sept 22.
The violence coincided with a war of words between the arch rivals at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During a speech to the general assembly earlier this week, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said India was unleashing “massive and indiscriminate force” in the disputed region of Kashmir and called for an international investigation.
India fired back at the remarks and accused Islamabad of harbouring militants.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full. The neighbours regularly exchange mortar fire across the border despite signing a ceasefire agreement in 2003.
