GIRL, SOLDIER KILLED IN PAK FIRING; ARMY ISSUES WARNING

JAMMU: A five-year-old girl and a soldier were killed in heavy Pakistan firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, forcing India to warn the neighbouring country it reserved the right to hit back.

A soldier and two civilians were also injured in the intense shelling on Indian posts and villages in Rajouri and Poonch districts, affecting around 5,000 people. Authorities sounded an alert, asking residents to stay indoors, and closed schools indefinitely.

Naik Muddasar Ahmed, 37, of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was grievously injured when mortar shells landed on his bunker in Bhimber Gali sector, the army said. He was taken to a hospital but couldn’t be saved.

The native of Tral in southern Kashmir is survived by his wife and two children. Another JAKLI jawan, Naik Firdous, was severely injured in Poonch’s Balakote. Five-year-old Saida Kafeel Kouser was killed when a shell landed on her house in Balakote. Two Rajouri residents — Shah Begum, wife of Mohammed Sharief of Panjgrain, and Sharief Ahmed — were also injured.