1st LD: Death toll from Indian cross-LoC firing rises to 7: Pakistani army

Pakistani army said that at least seven civilians were killed by Indian troops and several others were injured in a cross Line of Control (LoC) firing in the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday.

"Indian troops targeted a civil bus near the LoC in Neelum valley. Seven embraced shahadat (martyred)," an army statement said.

"Indians also fired on the ambulance which went for evacuation," it said.

Police officials in the area have also confirmed the death toll while 15 others were wounded in the Indian firing on the bus.

Jamil Mir, superintendent of police in Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, told the media that the bus was heading to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the valley.

There has been escalation along the LoC, the de facto border, between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region, since suspected militants killed 19 soldiers in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September.

The Indian military blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack saying Pakistan was behind the attack, but Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested independent investigation.

Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003, however, firing exchanges do take place time to time and the cross-LoC firing has increased in recent days. Both countries accuse each other of the 2003 ceasefire violations.

Pakistani army said on Monday that Indian firing killed at least four Pakistani nationals and injured 10 others in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on Tuesday over the Nov. 21 cross-LoC attack, the foreign ministry said.

Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz told the Senate on Tuesday that his country is ready to resume meaningful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including the dispute of Kashmir through comprehensive and composite talks.

Pakistan and Indian have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule. Endit