A 10-day-old baby, injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, died at a hospital on Monday, police said.
The infant, his mother Fatima Jan (35) and another civilianMohammad Arif (40) were injured when mortar shells fired by Pakistan hit theirvillage in Shahpur sector late Sunday. They were rushed to district hospitalPoonch, where the minor succumbed to injuries, they added.
Cross-border firing by Pakistani troops continued for thesecond successive day on Monday in the district, prompting strong and effectiveretaliation by Indian soldiers, an Army spokesperson said.
“At about 1245 hours, Pakistan initiated unprovokedceasefire violation by firing of small arms and shelling with mortars along LoCin Shahpur sector. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly,” he said.
A police official said Jan and Arif were referred to theGovernment Medical College Hospital, Jammu, for specialised treatment, thoughtheir condition was stated to be “stable”.
Mortars and small arms were used from across the border totarget forward posts and villages in Shahpur, Saujiyan and Mendhar sectorsbetween 5 pm and 10 pm on Sunday.
Several houses were damaged in the firing, the officialsaid.
The Army spokesperson said information on casualties on thePakistani side in the retaliatory action was not immediately available.On July 22, an Indian soldier was killed inPakistani firing in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, while a civilian wasinjured in another incident of cross-border firing by Pakistan in Poonch sectoron July 20.