Move out, Pak warns over loudspeakers, shells villages
, TNN|
Feb 25, 2018, 10.46 AM IST
A day after Pakistan took envoys of six key countries to the volatile Line of Control (LoC) to show them the “damage” caused by firing from the Indian Army, the Pakistani army used loudspeakers on Saturday at its Chakothi post, adjoining Uri sector in Baramulla district of Kashmir, urging residents of the villages it intended to target to vacate the area.
Moments before intense firing and shelling on Saturday morning that caused havoc in the twin villages of Silkote and Churanda, Pakistani troops were heard announcing through loudspeakers, “The villagers of ‘maqbooza Kashmir’ (the part of Kashmir under Indian control) are asked to shift to safer places in order to escape response to Indian firing and shelling.”
In a while, the two villages came under heavy firing and shelling in which five houses were completely destroyed. Indian troops retaliated, as shelling and firing continued since morning.
Barely 24 hours ago, in an attempt to secure international attention to cross-border firing, the Pakistan establishment had taken the envoys to Rawalakot sector.
The Pakistani army said the visit was aimed at providing the envoys first-hand knowledge about the situation in the wake of “incessant ceasefire violations by Indian troops”.
Situated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Rawalakot is adjacent to the Indian side of Poonch district.
Govt deploys ambulances to ferry villagers to safer spots
Silkote and Churanda were the worst affected in the firing by the Pakistan army on Saturday as the twin villages are barely 2,000ft from LoC. Other villages like Balkote, Tillawari, Thajal, Batgra and Hathlanga, which are farther, were also affected by the ceasefire violation. Government and military authorities used several vehicles, including ambulances, to take villagers to safer locations since the morning.
Jhelum bifurcates many of the villages from PoK in Uri, where the administration has now established a control room. Nearly 500-odd residents of the villages close to LoC in Uri have been shifted to safer locations by the authorities, DGP S P Vaid tweeted on Saturday.
Friday, Pakistan army’s media arm Inter-Services Public Relations said diplomats of US, UK, France, China, Turkey and Indonesia were briefed “about Indian atrocities, including targeting of civilians”. Indian shelling has caused several civilian casualties in recent weeks, it said.
Moments before intense firing and shelling on Saturday morning that caused havoc in the twin villages of Silkote and Churanda, Pakistani troops were heard announcing through loudspeakers, “The villagers of ‘maqbooza Kashmir’ (the part of Kashmir under Indian control) are asked to shift to safer places in order to escape response to Indian firing and shelling.”
In a while, the two villages came under heavy firing and shelling in which five houses were completely destroyed. Indian troops retaliated, as shelling and firing continued since morning.
Barely 24 hours ago, in an attempt to secure international attention to cross-border firing, the Pakistan establishment had taken the envoys to Rawalakot sector.
The Pakistani army said the visit was aimed at providing the envoys first-hand knowledge about the situation in the wake of “incessant ceasefire violations by Indian troops”.
Situated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Rawalakot is adjacent to the Indian side of Poonch district.
Govt deploys ambulances to ferry villagers to safer spots
Silkote and Churanda were the worst affected in the firing by the Pakistan army on Saturday as the twin villages are barely 2,000ft from LoC. Other villages like Balkote, Tillawari, Thajal, Batgra and Hathlanga, which are farther, were also affected by the ceasefire violation. Government and military authorities used several vehicles, including ambulances, to take villagers to safer locations since the morning.
Jhelum bifurcates many of the villages from PoK in Uri, where the administration has now established a control room. Nearly 500-odd residents of the villages close to LoC in Uri have been shifted to safer locations by the authorities, DGP S P Vaid tweeted on Saturday.
Friday, Pakistan army’s media arm Inter-Services Public Relations said diplomats of US, UK, France, China, Turkey and Indonesia were briefed “about Indian atrocities, including targeting of civilians”. Indian shelling has caused several civilian casualties in recent weeks, it said.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)
