Eight killed on the Pak side, says media

CHANDIGARH: The continuing cross-border shelling along the Indo-pak border over the last week appears to be resulting in casualties on the Pakistani side as well. The Pakistani media has claimed that it has lost six civilians and two soldiers in the mortar shelling by the Border Security Forces on villages along what they called the ‘Working Boundary’.

In its report, Dawn said two people, a soldier of the Punjab Rangers and an elderly man, were “martyred on Tuesday as the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) stepped up mortar shelling on villages”.quoting Rescue-1122 officials, Dawn said Lance Naik Muhammad Shahid of the Punjab Rangers was killed in an attack on the Phagwal Post in Zafarwal-shakargarh sector and Malik Muhammad Aslam, 70, was at home when mortar shells hit his house, killing him on the spot. It added that four people were also injured in the attack.residents of villages hit in the latest spat of attacks from across the border spent a sleepless Monday night, choosing to hide in the fields out of fear, the report claimed.

On May 18, four people, who included a woman and her three children, were killed while 10 were injured in ceasefire violations by India, an Intswer-services Public Relations (ISPR) press release had said.earlier, Pakistani media had claimed that a man was “gunned down in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on May 15 after Indian snipers resumed targeted attacks from across the restive LOC”. It had traced the incident to Dara Sher Khan village in the Hajira subdivision and said man was killed when he was in his courtyard.

‘PAKISTAN SUFFERS MORE IN CROSS-BORDER FIRING’

Even as Pakistan Army’s publicity wing — Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) — has censored reports on present skirmishes on the International Border, BSF official said on Wednesday, “Pakistan has suffered much more than what they did to us.” BSF Jammu Frontier inspector general Ram Awtar said, “They (Pakistan) have suffered much more than us in the present exchanges.” “We are retaliating stingingly. We are not initiating any fire but we are retaliating strongly to their firing and shelling,” he said. Another BSF officer said on Wednesday that BSF eliminated one more Ranger opposite Samba sector.