Pakistani civilian injured as Indo-Pak border forces exchange fire

Published October 19, 2014
A Pakistani villager points to a hole in his roof caused by a mortar shell allegedly fired across the border at the Dhamala border village near the eastern city of Sialkot in Punjab province on October 8, 2014. - AFP
A Pakistani villager points to a hole in his roof caused by a mortar shell allegedly fired across the border at the Dhamala border village near the eastern city of Sialkot in Punjab province on October 8, 2014. - AFP

Indian and Pakistani troops traded cross-border fire Sunday injuring at least one Pakistani civilian in Janglora village of Sialkot's Bajwat sector, officials said, the latest in a series of clashes that began earlier this month and have claimed at least 20 civilian lives.

The wounded person was shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Sialkot where all victims of the recent Indo-Pak clashes have been provided with free medical treatment and facilities.

The exchange of fire began when Indian troops resorted to “unprovoked” fire across the border that separates India-held Kashmir and Pakistan's Punjab province, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

Each country holds part of the Himalayan territory but claims it in full. The two nations have fought two full-scale wars over Kashmir, though tensions have eased since the signing of a 2003 ceasefire.

It is still unclear what precipitated the recent upsurge in unrest, which began on October 6 during the Islamic festival of Eidul-Adha and has forced thousands of residents on both sides to flee their homes.

Pakistan's most senior foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz meanwhile had a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, officials said. He told Ban that Islamabad “was fully united and determined to thwart any aggression”, according to a statement released by his office.

Aziz also called on the UN to implement its 1947 resolution calling for a referendum in Kashmir to determine its fate and restore peace to the region -- a resolution India has long rejected.

Opinion

Editorial

Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...
Tax amendments
Updated 20 Dec, 2024

Tax amendments

Bureaucracy gimmicks have not produced results, will not do so in the future.
Cricket breakthrough
20 Dec, 2024

Cricket breakthrough

IT had been made clear to Pakistan that a Champions Trophy without India was not even a distant possibility, even if...
Troubled waters
20 Dec, 2024

Troubled waters

LURCHING from one crisis to the next, the Pakistani state has been consistent in failing its vulnerable citizens....