Two injured in shelling by Pakistan Army in Rajouri

Two members of a family, including a 10-year-old girl, were injured in overnight shelling by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday. A mortar shell from across the border hit the house of Nazir Hussain at village Lamibari in Rajdhani area of Manjakote sector, resulting in injuries to two persons, the officials said.

They said the injured 70-year-old Rafiq Khan and Sonia Shabir were rescued by a police party headed by station house officer of the local police station Manzoor Kohli amid intense shelling and shifted to district hospital Rajouri. The Pakistani Army shelled forward villages in the sector besides Balakote and Mendhar in nearby Poonch district late Tuesday.

The Indian Army retaliated and the cross-border shelling between the two sides continued intermittently for several hours, the officials said adding the casualties suffered by Pakistani Army in the retaliatory action was not known immediately. The officials said a live mortar shell was found lying unexploded near a residential area in Mendhar town this morning. An Army team is at the scene to neutralize the shell, they said.

Pakistani rangers also shelled areas along the IB in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, causing panic among border residents. The firing and shelling in Chandwa area of Hiranagar began at around 9.30 pm Tuesday and continued throughout the night, they said, adding Border Security Force (BSF) personnel retaliated effectively. The guns fell silent around 4 am.