MUZAFFARABAD / SIALKOT: Two elderly men were killed in “unrelenting and indiscriminate” shelling by Indian troops from across the Line of Control and the Sialkot Working Boundary on Tuesday.

Munshi Khan, 70, lost his life after a mortar shell landed on his home in Bani Lanjot village in Nakyal sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a police official told Dawn from the area, located in the southern Kotli district.

Residents said a shrapnel pierced the neck of the victim, killing him on the spot. Two other members of his family were wounded.

Earlier in the day, the official said, a shell landed in the courtyard of a house in Datot village, injuring three siblings – Ambrina, 20, Rozina, 17, and Sheraz, 16.

Another person was also injured in the village.

Elsewhere, in Kerni village of Haveli district, a shell hit the building of a high school, but there was no physical loss.

According to Sialkot District Coordination Officer Dr Asif Tufail, the Indian Border Security Force resorted to unprovoked heavy mortar shelling in Sucheetgarh and Charwah sectors in early hours of the morning when people were sleeping in their homes in border villages.

Mohammad Shareef, 60, was sleeping in the courtyard of his home in Thathi Khurd village in Sucheetgarh sector when a mortar shell hit him, killing him on the spot.

His dwelling was badly damaged and six cattle also perished in the attack.

Reports from other villages in the two sectors said 50 houses were hit by the shelling.

Our correspondent adds from the United Nations: Expressing “serious concern” about the recent escalation of violence along the border between India and Pakistan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint and take steps to protect civilians.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the UN chief urged both countries to continue to address their differences through dialogue.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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