Four youths martyred by landmine from Indian side near LoC in Poonch

Four young men were martyred when a landmine that had drifted across from the Indian side exploded near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the AJK Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR) said.

The four had gone to repair a water pipeline at a spring near the villages of Mahandlah and Madarpur as part of their daily routine when the mine went off, according to initial reports. All four were martyred on the spot, the DGPR said, Geo News reported.

The victims

The four were identified as:

• Faizan Sagheer
• Ishtiaq
• Asim Rafiq
• Waqas Sharif

The deaths plunged the area into mourning, with residents expressing deep grief, Geo News reported. The Express Tribune said all four were killed instantly.

A danger that does not go away

The DGPR said people and livestock in areas near the LoC remained at risk because of the nature of the terrain, the unclear demarcation of the border and landmines drifting over from the Indian side.

The Express Tribune noted that mines drifting across the LoC pose a persistent risk to civilians and livestock in nearby settlements.

Second loss of civilian lives this month

The blast comes days after two Pakistani civilians were killed by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in the Bedian sector along the international border near Kasur.

The Foreign Office said at the time that the BSF had “resorted to unprovoked lethal force against unarmed civilians”, calling it “wholly unjustified and grossly disproportionate”. The two men, Azmat Rasool and Mohsin Jatt, were buried in their ancestral village near Lidhar. Pakistan summoned India’s chargé d’affaires to lodge a strong protest, and called on India to hold an immediate, transparent and credible investigation and to take action against those responsible.

A region already under strain

The tragedy has struck as political leaders in AJK voice concern about the situation in Poonch division. At a meeting in Rawalpindi on Monday hosted by Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, leaders from the PPP, PML-N, the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party and the AJK opposition called for a “peaceful and dignified” resolution of the crisis in the division, Dawn reported.

They asked for internet services to be restored, for uninterrupted supplies of food and medicines, and for communication links and free movement in Poonch division to resume. They also demanded that eligible voters in the region be allowed to take part in the electoral process without delay.

Why it matters

The people who live along the LoC carry the heaviest cost of the conflict over Kashmir, from shelling and firing to mines that wash across the line. Four families in Poonch have now lost sons who were simply trying to keep water flowing to their village. Their deaths are a reminder that the dangers along the LoC fall first on ordinary Kashmiris. Read our reports on the funerals of the civilians killed by BSF firing in Kasur and on Pakistan’s rejection of India’s Kashmir claims at the UN.

This article draws on reporting by Geo News, The Express Tribune and Dawn.