Pak claims Indian firing kills 7 soldiers, summons Indian High Commissioner

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale in Islamabad, over the killings of seven Pakistani soldiers at the Line of Control (LoC) in retaliatory firings by Indian soldiers.

Earlier today, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that seven Pakistani soldiers were killed at the LoC in cross-border firings by Indian soldiers late Sunday night. Responding to Indian firing, said ISPR, Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts.

The ceasefire violation took place along the Line of Control in Bhimber sector of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Pakistan's army said in a statement. Pakistani troops responded to "unprovoked" Indian firing and targeted Indian posts effectively, it said.

So far mostly civilians have been killed in the firing on Pakistani side of the LoC.

Pakistan Foreign Office last week said that the civilian death toll from alleged Indian shelling has risen to at least 25 in the past few weeks.

Last week, Pakistan had summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over alleged "unprovoked" firing by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on November 7.

The firing resulted in the death of 3 civilians, including a woman and injuries to four others, including a 5-year-old boy, the Foreign Office had said in a statement.

In the past, several casualties have also been reported on the Indian side of the border. An Army jawan was killed on Saturday in a recent ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC.

According to a November 4 news report, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire 99 times along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting Indian posts and civilian areas, after the surgical strike by the army on PoK-based terrorist launching pads.

A senior Army officer had said there were 83 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu region falling under 16 Corps area. As many as 16 ceasefire violations were recorded along the LoC in Kashmir region falling under 15 corps area, he had said.

The worst-ever Pakistani shelling targeting civil population took place on November 1 when eight persons, including two children and four women, were killed and 22 others injured along the IB and the LoC in five sectors of J&K, forcing Indian troops to give befitting reply by destroying 14 Pakistani posts and killing two of their troopers.