Two Pakistani citizens were martyred and a third was wounded when Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire near the Pakistan-India international border in Kasur, security sources said on Friday. The sources described the shooting as unprovoked.
What Happened in Ladhar Village
According to the sources, the three men were from Ladhar village in Punjab. They had walked only a few steps beyond a border pillar when the BSF fired on them without any warning. The sources stressed that all three were unarmed.
The two men who lost their lives were identified as Azmat Rasool Shah and Mohsin Jutt, both residents of Jattan Wali Haveli in Ladhar.
Sources Call It a Violation of Border Rules
Security sources said none of the three had tried to cross the border fence. They called the BSF firing in Kasur an open breach of the border agreement and of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that govern the frontier.
The sources also pointed to Indian media coverage that labelled the civilians as infiltrators. In their view, this fits a pattern of presenting such incidents as false-flag operations.
Incident Follows ISPR Exposure of Alleged False-Flag Operation
The shooting came just one day after the Pakistani military publicly challenged what it called an Indian false-flag operation. India had claimed it killed a former Pakistani soldier in a staged encounter in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
To show that the retired Special Services Group commando was innocent, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry presented Havildar Muhammad Asif to the media. Asif told reporters himself that he was alive and living in Pakistan.