A Jammu and Kashmir government official and two security officers were among seven persons killed in mortar shelling and drone strikes by Pakistan in the Jammu region on Saturday, PTI reported.
The deaths were reported hours before India and Pakistan agreed to stop all firing on land, air and sea at 5 pm. India alleged on Saturday night that Pakistan repeatedly violated the agreement.
Earlier on Saturday, Additional District Development Commissioner (Rajouri) Raj Kumar Thapa and his two staff members suffered injuries when an artillery shell hit his home in the town of Rajouri, PTI reported.
All three were taken to the Government Medical Hospital, where Thapa succumbed to his injuries.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that Thapa was a dedicated officer of the J&K Administration Services. “Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district & attended the online meeting I chaired,” he said. “…I’ve no words to express my shock & sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace.”
Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, who hailed from Himachal Pradesh, was killed in a Pakistani artillery shell explosion near his post in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, PTI reported. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that he spoke with the officer’s father, and that officials have been directed to carry out Kumar’s last rites with full state honours.
Border Security Force Sub-Inspector Mohammed Imteyaz was killed in cross-border firing by Pakistan along the International Border in the RS Pura Sector. Imteyaz “gallantly led from the front” while heading the BSF border outpost, the security force said, according to The Indian Express.
Seven others were injured and were taken to a hospital.
In Rajouri, two more persons – two-year-old Aisha Noor and 35-year-old Mohammed Shohib – were killed in shelling near an industrial area, PTI reported. Three others were injured.
A 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi was killed in mortar shelling in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district. On the outskirts of Jammu, a 45-year-old man named Zakir Hussain was killed and two others, including a girl, were killed injured in shelling in the Kheri Keran village.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been escalated since the Indian military on Wednesday carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 persons on April 22.
The Pakistan Army retaliated by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Thursday, the Indian armed forces said they had neutralised attempts by Pakistan to use drones and missiles to target military installations in 15 towns and cities on Wednesday night. That evening, India said it had repulsed several attacks using drones and other munitions along the western border.
Overall, 21 persons have been killed in India due to shelling and strikes by Pakistan.
‘Historical victory’ for Pakistan, says PM Shehbaz Sharif
Hours after the announcement of the ceasefire understanding with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday claimed that the agreement was a “historic victory” for his nation, BBC reported.
Sharif claimed that Pakistan had been the victim of an “unjustified war” allegedly waged by India by using the Pahalgam terror attack as a pretext, according to India Today.
The prime minister also alleged that India “destroyed” mosques over the past few days, BBC reported. India, however, rejected these claims earlier in the day and called it misinformation.
Speaking about the ceasefire, Sharif said that the agreement was made “for the benefit of everybody”.
Also read: In wake of ceasefire, damaged homes in a Jammu neighbourhood bear witness to human cost of conflict
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