Fear enveloped villages on the India-Pakistan border on Saturday after two civilians, including a six-year-old, were killed and five others were injured in shelling from the Pakistan side. Even as Indian forces retaliated, the renewed firing triggered a fresh spell of migration from the forward areas along the international border (IB) in the RS Pora sector of Jammu division.
A father-son duo was killed in the firing and three other family members were injured when a shell landed on their house in Jeoraform village at around 4am on Saturday, the police said. The deceased have been identified as Akram Hussain, 28, and six-year-old Aslam Hussain.
"Pakistan started the unprovoked firing on our villages and posts in RS Pora sector. We retaliated. In the firing, a jawan sustained minor injuries. Some civilians were injured," said Rakesh Sharma, inspector general of Border Security Force (BSF), Jammu Frontier.
The incident occurred late on Friday night when Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling at BSF posts in Arnia sector at around 12.50am. Within minutes they opened another front and started shelling the RS pora sector. Police said around 2,000 people have been shifted to safer locations.
A BSF spokesperson said that Pakistan rangers had fired long-range mortar shells and used heavy and medium machine guns to target as many as 22 BSF posts. One BSF jawan suffered splinter injuries, he saod.
More than 13 villages on the borders were targeted by the Pakistani forces. Scores of families living in border villagers left their homes and migrated to safer locations. Divisional commissioner of Jammu, Shantmanu, told dna that nearly 1,000 people have been put up at ITI college and at a local school.
"For the last so many days, we have been fearing for our lives. The firing was very intense last night and mortar shells landed inside the village," said Sukhdev Chaudhary, a resident of Laryan village, Abdalain in RS Pora sector. "Villagers, including children, fled their homes. Now, we have shifted to a college but we have no facilities or food."
Meanwhile, army personnel on a routine patrol found a 50-meter tunnel on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Pallanwala Sector of Jammu district. "The tunnel is approximately two-and-a-half feet wide and three-and-a-half feet high and is leading towards PoK. It appears to be an incomplete tunnel as no exit has been found," a defence spokesman in Jammu said.
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