Indian firing kills Pakistan army’s captain: military official

Pakistan army captain was killed and another soldier was injured in Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC), military officials said Wednesday.

It is the latest incident in the on-going escalations along the LoC, which has heightened diplomatic tensions between the South Asian nuclear rivals.

Pakistan and India had declared a ceasefire in 2003 however troops of both countries now routinely fire at each other that has caused tensions.  They accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

 “A Pakistan Army officer Captain Sarfraz embraced ‘shahadat’ (martyrdom) due to Indian troops unprovoked shelling last night at Shakma sector‚ near Skardu on Line of Control,” a military official said.

He said in a statement another soldier Yasin has also been seriously wounded. He was shifted to a military facility for treatment.

The official said that Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing at 23:15 hours last night.

“Pakistani troops responded effectively to Indian unprovoked firing,” he said. There was no report of any casualty on the Indian said.

Pakistani military official said that exchange of fire continued till 02:15 hrs early Wednesday morning.

It is the second incident of Indian firing in less than a week, the military says.

Five Pakistani nationals including a woman were injured in the “unprovoked” mortar shelling from the Indian side at Nakyal Sector of Kotli along the Line of Control the disputed Kashmir region on Thursday.

Tension has heightened at a time when prime ministers of the two countries are scheduled to meet next month in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told National Day ceremony in New Delhi on August 15 that “anti-India activities emanating from Pakistan” will have to stop for relations to improve and asserted that all steps will be taken to prevent “dastardly” acts like the recent killing of soldiers on the LoC.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that it is his strong desire to reduce tensions with India. He also called for using the diplomatic and military channels to resolve differences through talks.

The National Assembly this week passed a resolution denouncing the “unprovoked Indian aggression on the Line of Control (LoC).”

 The resolution also angrily reacted to a mob attack on Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in New Delhi, demonstrations outside the offices of Pakistan International Airlines in the Indian capital, prevention of the bus running between the two countries in the Indian city of Amritsar, and “vilification of Pakistan in the Indian media”.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Aug 21 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.