An injured civilian being admitted to hospital after the Pakistan shelling in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir (PTI photo) An injured civilian being admitted to hospital after the Pakistan shelling in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir (PTI photo)

Five civilians, including a village sarpanch, were killed and four were injured in Balakote as Pakistan intensified unprovoked mortar shelling along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Saturday.

Basoni sarpanch Karamat Hussain and Abdul Rehman were in a car when a shell hit the vehicle, killing them. Others who died in the shelling were Mohd Amin, Mohd Shiraj and 10-year-old Moin Khan.

Deputy Commissioner Nissar Ahmed Wani could confirm the death of only two people, saying that one died on the spot while another succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The administration was making arrangements to airlift those seriously injured to Jammu, he added.

Pointing out that the injured included men, women and children, sources said the shelling at Balakote started around 12.30 pm. It continued in the evening, with Pakistani troops firing 60-120 mm mortars. The Indian army, on its part, was retaliating, said sources.

Earlier in the morning, two civilians were injured at Sawjian as Pakistani troops targeted forward Indian positions and civilian areas with mortar shells. Pakistani troops have been targeting these areas continuously over the past 13 days.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta said the latest round of shelling from Pakistan started at midnight in Mandi and Sawjian areas of Pooch district. It stopped at 3 am, only to resume at 7.30 am, he added.

This was the 48th incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistan since last month. As many as nine people have been killed and three dozen people have been injured in Pakistani firing and mortar shelling during this time. A number of houses have been damaged, forcing nearly two dozen families in Sawjian sector to shift to safer places.

Meanwhile, the administration has identified places to accommodate civilians migrating from their native villages in case the situation along the border escalates further.

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