ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani army said Saturday that at least two civilians were injured by Indian forces' firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.
An army statement said that the Indian forces "resorted to unprovoked firing and targeted civilian population" in Satwal and Nikial sectors along the LoC, which divides Pakistan and India in Kashmir.
A statement from the army's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, said that the Indian troops targeted civilian population in Tetrinote, Manwa, Satwal and Balakot villages and injured two, including a six-year-old girl.
"Pakistan Army aggressively and effectively responded to hostile fire, silenced their guns and caused considerable damage to the posts carrying out fire," the statement said.
"Targeting civilians will not deter Kashmiri people from their just struggle against Indian oppression," the army said.
Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC and the Working Boundary in 2003. Both sides, however, routinely accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
There has been escalation along the LoC and Working Boundary since militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers on Sept. 18 last year.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 4 that during the past two weeks, Indian forces have increasingly targeted civilian areas on the Pakistani side in the disputed Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 13 civilians.
In 2017 to date, the Indian forces have carried out more than 900 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary, resulting in the killings of 45 innocent civilians and injuries to 155, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
