One civilian embraced martyrdom on Saturday while two others were injured as the Indian Army opened “indiscriminate fire” on a group of shepherds at the Line of Control, the army’s media relations wing said.
In February 2021, both countries had recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire agreement and agreed to address the “core issues” that could undermine peace and stability.
Today, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, “Today, at 11:55 hours, Indian Army, in a display of its usual inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, opened indiscriminate fire onto a group of shepherds in Sattwal Sector.
“Resultantly, one civilian has embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while two have been critically injured,” it added.
The statement further said: “Driven by a newfound geo-political patronage, Indian forces have embarked on a plan to take innocent lives to satiate their false narratives and concocted allegations.
“While a strong protest is being launched with the Indian side, Pakistan reserves the right to respond back in manner of its choosing to protect Kashmiri lives in the LoC,” it added.
The ISPR “reminded” the Indian side to respect the basic human rights of Kashmiris, “particularly their inalienable right to their lands”.
Last month, Indian troops had shot dead a 25-year-old inadvertent crosser from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Earlier on May 15, Parveen Fatima, a 65-year-old widow from the Pandu sector of AJK’s Jhelum valley district, was also mercilessly killed by the Indian army after she had strayed across the LoC while picking some medicinal plants.
The development comes days after the United States and India issued a joint statement, calling on Pakistan to crack down on extremists that target New Delhi.
The statement was issued as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the US. It called for action against extremist groups based in Pakistan such as the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
A day ago, the Foreign Office (FO) had termed the statement “misleading and unwarranted”, saying that the “reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones”.
Responding to media queries, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said, “India, in addition to being a state-sponsor of terrorism, habitually uses terrorism bogey to deflect attention from its brutal repression of Kashmiri people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and maltreatment of its minorities.”
She had further asserted that the joint statement failed to address the “key sources of tension and instability in the region and to take cognisance of the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.’
