At least four Indian soldiers were killed in an encounter with Kashmiri freedom fighters in the Kupwara District in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir late into night between November 7 and 8.
The encounter took place opposite the Neelam Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, says a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), media wing of the Pakistan Army.
To ward off the humiliation faced by the Indian Army in front of their domestic audience, the ISPR said, the Indian Army, instead of finding reasons within and addressing the same, opted to resort to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on November 13 using all calibres, including artillery and heavy mortars, along the LoC in various sectors of Azad Jamm AJ&K.
They targeted areas including Neelum Valley (Nekrun, Kel, Sharda, Dudhnial, Shahkot, Jura, and Nauseri sectors), Leepa Valley (Danna, Mandal and Kayani sectors), Jhelum Valley (Chham and Pandu sectors) and Bagh Valley (Pirkanthi, Sankh, Haji Pir, Bedori and Kailer sectors).
In this deliberate attempt, the Indian Army did not limit itself to engagement of army posts/positions. Rather, in utter disregard for all international obligations and human rights, the Indian Army targeted the civil population. As a result, four Kashmiri civilians were martyred and 12 injured.
In response to this provocative act, the Pakistan Army gave a befitting reply to the Indian Army and effectively targeted the Indian posts, which targeted innocent civilians. As a result, the Indian Army suffered substantial losses, both in terms of men and material.
The Indian media confirmed that losses were much higher than those being acknowledged by the Indian officials.
In this valiant act, a brave soldier of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom while five others got injured.
Such cowardly acts of targeting innocent civilians reflect a sheer lack of morality, utter unprofessionalism and total disregard for human rights by the Indian Army, which has been indulging in clear violations of ceasefire agreements of 2003.
“It is once again reiterated that Pakistan is a peace-loving country and the Pakistan Army pursues the same aspirations. However, we stand committed to defending the motherland and the Kashmiri brethren even at the cost of our blood and lives. We assure that all such provocative acts shall continue to be responded in the same coin,” the ISPR said.
On the other side of the border, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said that five people were martyred and 31 wounded in the intense shelling on Neelum and Jhelum valleys. "How long we have to bear such colossal losses?" he asked.
A senior local official in Neelum, Raja Shahid Mehmood, confirmed the casualties and said that shelling was continuing late Friday.