From Our
Correspondent
MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Army said that there has been an escalation in firing and shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Major-General Amer Ahsan Nawaz, the commander of Pakistani troops in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said that the Indian military is trying to distract attention from unrest in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
“If you compare it to the past years, there is a definite increase in this year,” he told reporters on Wednesday near the LoC, across which the two sides’ militaries have faced off for decades.
According to the Pakistan Army, in 2019, when ceasefire violations hit a more than decade-high peak, there were just over 3,500 incidents. Already in 2020 there have been almost 1,800 violations, the surge during the more volatile summer season since June has been more pronounced than in previous years, they added.
Tensions were exacerbated last year when India revoked the autonomous status of IOJ&K. In the recent months, the diplomatic relationship has worsened further as New Delhi and Islamabad each ejected half of its neighbour’s diplomats. In AJK, which is relatively heavily populated close to the LoC, locals said that shelling or firing was becoming a near-daily occurrence.
“It can start any time day or night,” said Malik Mohammad Ayub, a local deputy commissioner, who said around four civilians were martyred and 13 wounded in his district since he took the job four months ago.
Faiza Shabbir, 12, said she and her sisters had been afraid when shelling began in their area earlier this month.
