2 killed, 9 injured as Pak opens firing in Rajouri
CEASEFIRE VIOLATION Four soldiers of the 48 Rashtriya Rifles injured in exchange of fire
At least two civilians, including a minor girl were killed and nine, including four Indian Army personnel, were injured as Pakistan fired mortars on 35 forward villages and Indian posts along the LoC in Nowshera, Qila Darhal and Manjakote areas of J&K’s Rajouri district on Saturday, officials said.
This was the third ceasefire violation along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir in the past three days.
Four soldiers of the 48 Rashtriya Rifles suffered injuries in the exchange of fire, and were taken to a garrison hospital, said an intelligence source.
Rajouri deputy commissioner Dr Shahid Iqbal said the dead were identified as 51-year-old Haji Tufail Hussain and his relative’s 13-year-old daughter, Asiya Bi. “The little girl was not his daughter. She had come from Surankote in Poonch to stay with Tufail’s family at Jhangar,” Iqbal said. Tufail’s wife Zaitoon Begum was critically injured and was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu. Among four civilians injured, two have been identified as Rekha Devi and Sonia Kousar of Jhangar.
The deputy commissioner along with senior superintendent of police (SSP) Yougal Manhas and other senior officers from health, animal husbandry, power, and essential services departments rushed to the affected areas to facilitate evacuation. Choudhary said he has ordered the closure of nearly 50 schools located along the border in Nowshera for an indefinite period. He’s also ordered closing down of 36 more schools located in Dandesar, Doongi and Manjakote for three days.
Middle School Thathiali school in Manjakote area and another two were reportedly damaged in Nowshera.
“Ceasefire violation was reported in Nowshera around 0730 hours on Saturday. Heavy mortar shelling started early morning which went through the day in villages Sarya, Khamba, Bhawani, Kalsian, Mahanpur, Dhanaka, Ganya and Khori, situated within 2 km from the LoC. Overall 26 villages in Nowshera and Qila Darhal Tehsils have been affected while nine villages in Manjakote Tehil of District Rajouri also remained in the line of fire for around three hours,” said Choudhary.
“Heavy shelling during the day hampered our rescue and evacuation process as the road leading to Jhangar was repeatedly in the line of fire, which could risk lives. More than 200 people from various villages have been shifted to various camps established by district administration where facilities of ration, cooking, drinking water, sanitation, first aid and proper accommodation have been provided”, he said, adding that two more vehicles carrying 70 people reached Nowshera taking the number of migrants to 270.
Bashir (name changed), a resident of volatile south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, is an electrician with a degree from an industrial training institute. However, he realised that getting a job based on his qualifications was almost impossible.
On Friday morning, he queued up to participate in a police recruitment drive in an attempt to land a job that would help support his younger siblings and retired father. They, however, were blissfully unaware of what he was up to.
In the last few months, Kashmir has witnessed instances of policemen being killed, their families threatened, and houses ransacked. Despite this, the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir police recruitment drive has seen a high turnout across the Valley. Over one lakh candidates applied for 5,000 posts, and over 50,000 applications were received from Kashmir itself.
Bashir and many other candidates were wary of getting their photographs taken by photographers, or speaking to reporters. “I have not told my friends in the village that I am going for the police recruitment rally. My file was kept hidden in my jacket,” an applicant said. “If the neighbours come to know, they will question us for wanting to join a force that commits atrocities on us. Someone might attack me or even threaten my family.”
The applicant said he could not trust anybody to understand his desperation to land a job in a region where unemployment is rampant. Kashmiri policemen often find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.